Susan Granger’s review of “Death of a Unicorn” (A24)
Judging by its outlandish subject matter, I expected writer/director Alex Scharfman’s “Death of a Unicorn” to – at the very least – be an intriguing fantasy/satire. Instead it’s astoundingly awful!
As widower Elliot (Paul Rudd), a mild-mannered corporate compliance lawyer, and his angsty Gen-Z daughter Ridley (Jenny Ortega) are driving through a remote Canadian wilderness preserve to visit the estate of his billionaire boss, they accidentally hit a young unicorn.
Rushing to its side, traumatized Ridley touches its glowing horn, establishing a spiritual connection that momentarily transports her mind into a psychedelic kaleidoscope – and, incidentally, also clearing up her acne – while terrified Elliot wields a tire iron to beat the suffering creature out of its obvious misery.
Unsure of what to do with the carcass, they toss it in the trunk of their rental SUV, only to subsequently realize – to their horror – that it’s far from dead.
Nervous Elliot works for critically-ill Odell Leopold (Richard E. Grant), head of a ruthlessly powerful pharmaceutical family (perhaps inspired by Big Pharma’s notorious Sacklers) who live in a castle-like fortress, protected by armed guards.
When Odell’s delusional wife Belinda (Tea Leoni) and drug-addicted son Shepard (Will Poulter) realize the radiant unicorn horn’s regenerative properties, they’re determined to exploit and monetize the mythical beast, aided by their staff (Jessica Hynes, Anthony Carrigan) and researchers (Sunita Mani, Stephen Park)..
Meanwhile, horrified Ridley recalls an art history visit with her late mother to the Cloisters annex of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, where they viewed a series of unicorn tapestries; in medieval times, the majestic unicorn was associated with the resurrection of Christ.
The overly complicated conflict then descends into predictably tedious mayhem with R-rated graphic gore revolving around monstrous CGI creatures whose shaggy heads resemble donkeys more than horses.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Death of a Unicorn” is an absurdist 2, streaming on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
