Matthew Lomas
Matthew LomasA24 has been a stamp of quality small-budget films for quite a long time. Everything from Ex Machina to Marcel The Shell With Shoes On, they are constantly releasing fascinating stories. In fact, I often find that the more ridiculous a title or concept that A24 tackles, the better the overall film is. That streak continues with their recently released film, Death of a Unicorn. While the title and concept are both extremely absurd, they have nailed it! What exactly is it that they are aiming for? Let me explain.
For those who aren’t familiar with this movie, Death of a Unicorn is a horror comedy starring Jenna Ortega and Paul Rudd. The two play a dysfunctional daughter-father duo who are trying to get through a business weekend with the father’s business owners. On the way there, they accidentally run into a unicorn. What begins from there is a downward spiral of betrayal, greed, myth, blood, and laughs.
Despite the rather ridiculous premise of the film, the plot is relatively sound and is surprisingly relatable. The struggle between the daughter and father throughout the movie keeps the film grounded and familiar. Jenna Ortega does a fantastic job at playing a jaded daughter while Paul Rudd plays the clueless father trying to protect his daughter in the wrong ways. This grounded family dynamic gives the movie enough leeway to be ridiculous with the unicorns and the greedy Leopold Family.
Of course, both sides pose threats to the safety of Jenna Ortega and Paul Rudd’s family. The Leopold Family is dangerously deranged by their greed to the point where they keep making the initial unicorn death worse and worse. The Unicorns are very similar to their mythical history but also have a few horrifying tricks and tendencies that provide plenty of entertainment. While these two elements are ridiculous on screen, they are definitely tethered to the ground by the father-daughter dynamic.
The highlights of the cast have to be Will Poulter and Anthony Carrigan. Will Poulter plays Shepard Leopold, the heir to the Leopold fortune who has a ridiculous lack of intelligence paired with a bullheadedness that constantly puts him in awkward situations. Anthony Carrigan plays the butler for the Leopold Family who rarely speaks out of fear but often is the smartest person in the room. Both of these actors manage to bring a great amount of comedy to the film with their unique quirks. They also provide a good sense of drama when the moment arrives.
There is no stand-out soundtrack for the film but the audio design is phenomenal. From the various cries of the unicorns to the flesh ripping and classic horror noise misdirects, there is a lot to love here. My favorite part of the sound design is when you first hear one of the unicorns far off in the distance. You get the reactions from a few different characters and they all mostly view it as a bad omen, but they do not comprehend how bad until it is too late.
The CGI of the film is surprisingly amazing for a film with such a small budget. The unicorns look convincingly real despite the amount of time that they have on screen. The setting as a whole is absolutely gorgeous as well. I couldn’t find the exact location where they were shooting but production was done in Hungary. While I highly doubt that I will ever meet a unicorn in my life, I want to find where they shot because I was gushing over every landscape shot they showed us. Put all of these elements together and you come to a film that is much better than it has any right to be.
While I do not know if this is a film that will make it into my top ten films of the year, there is a good chance that it could be there. Have you seen (or plan to see) Death of a Unicorn in theaters? If so, let me know in the comments below. If you are looking for another phenomenal movie that leads into horror, I would suggest checking out my review of Ash here. It certainly doesn’t have comedy in it like Death of a Unicorn, but is definitely worth a watch.
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7 Death of a Unicorn
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Pros
- Great Visuals
- Good Chemistry
- Surprising Comedy
- Phenomenal Sound Design
Cons
- No Notable Soundtrack
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