Death of a Unicorn

Nothing is sacred anymore. Just like many childhood icons, be it Mickey Mouse, Bambi, and Winnie the Pooh, the loveable horned, rainbow ponies that are unicorns are also getting a horrific update. It's simply another bloody makeover with Death of a Unicorn, which asks the question: What if a father and daughter accidentally run over a unicorn, and its body turns out to literally glisten with capitalist potential and miraculous healing properties? Something director Alex Scharfman tries his best to answer in his directorial debut, which takes us on a wild and gory journey, filled with greed, scientific exploitation, and vengeful fairy tale creatures.

The premise is pure A24 gold, even if it all starts a bit slow. Paul Rudd with his customary and, in all honesty, now rather worn-out "cool dad" schtick, who together with his sarcastic teenage daughter played by Jenna Ortega smashes right into a unicorn with a rental car, which is as hilariously stupid as it is entertaining, something the film is very aware of. There is self-distance, humour, and a clear desire to take its bizarre B-movie concept and go off into the absurd.

But it's a bit slow. The pace is absent and Scharfman fumbles. After this explosive start, we are introduced to the Leopold family - a bunch of really unsympathetic billionaire jerks made up of the dying pharmaceutical tycoon Odell, his fake wife, and their miserable failure of a son with the personality of a stump. It is into this unusual band the aforementioned father and daughter, Elliot and Ridley, will try to ingratiate themselves, which is not necessarily the easiest thing to do when the boot of the car is hiding a murdered creature of myth.

The unicorn carcass, which incidentally refuses to lie still, consequently also becomes the film's central point when its magical properties cause the pharmaceutical company to see dollar signs. Not least at the instigation of the Leopold family, who see an early opportunity to exploit this for financial gain. What follows is a not-so-subtle nod to the pharmaceutical industry, greed, and mankind's ability to (try to) profit from everything. And I can't deny, there is a certain brilliance here that in more capable, experienced hands could have been something extraordinarily special. But somewhere it feels like Scharfman doesn't quite have the guts, or knows what to do with his genius contribution to the script.

The satire simply doesn't land, and Death of a Unicorn dances between wanting to convey some kind of clumsy, very obvious social criticism, and to shock. Not least when the unicorn's family decide to exact brutal and bloody revenge on the people involved. It's fun and entertaining, but also slightly frustrating and ultimately feels like wasted potential.

It must be said, however, that Ortega does well here, balancing her role with equal parts sarcasm and vulnerability. Along with Rudd, she not only becomes the film's emotional anchor but also contributes to an unexpectedly well-oiled dynamic, although Rudd is sadly rather underused in Death of a Unicorn. Will Poulter as Shepard Leopold also stands out with his charismatic and eccentric interpretation of a (very) spoilt heir. The scenes with him are often among the most chaotic and entertaining.

Less convincing are many of the film's special effects, where a mixture of gimmicky CGI and dodgy lighting, especially those involving the unicorns, make all the credibility fly out of the window and in the process unfortunately ruins much of the emotion. Sure, this can partly be explained by the film's relatively tight budget, but somehow I still feel that this could have been prevented. But even the set design is a bit odd, not necessarily ugly, just tonally off, with many scenes looking like they were composed by Wes Anderson's goth cousin, with them packed with symmetry, strange pastels, and a dash of horror romance.

The overall problem with Death of a Unicorn is not so much its various components, as that it feels more like a pitch than a finished film. Scharfman so clearly wants to do a lot, and the film literally screams "look at me, hear me," as if it's a personification of Lisa Simpson herself. And I appreciate the ambition, because Death of a Unicorn gives us glimpses of something brilliant, but ultimately drowns its own overloaded symbolism.

That said, Death of a Unicorn is still worth seeing. The quirky premise and humour are enough to entertain, and the film wears A24's usual trademark absurdity with pride. There's something here - a spark, an idea, a heart - but it's hard to fully grasp it. Ortega is brilliant as well as Poulter and the film is never dull. Just don't expect to be mesmerised.