Death of a Unicorn (2025) Review

While Jenna Ortega makes the best out of what is offered, a lot of “Death Of A Unicorn” is hit or miss.

ByAmari Allah Hours Posted on
"Movie Poster," Death of a Unicorn (2025)

Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.

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“Death of a Unicorn” Film Details

Runtime1 Hour(s) and 47 Minutes
Release Date (In Theaters)March 28, 2025
How To WatchIn Theaters
Advisory (MPAA) Film RatingRated R
Genre(s)Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Thriller
Director(s)Alex Scharfman
Writer(s)Alex Scharfman
DistributorA24

Summary

Ridley, to present a united front with her father Elliot, goes with him to meet his dying employer, Odell, who he hopes will bestow upon him a lucrative opportunity which will set Elliot, and Ridley in extension, for life. However, Elliot hits a unicorn on the way to Odell’s home, which is deep in the woods, on private land. Ridley has an experience when checking on the unicorn, which changes her, and because Elliot’s ambitions blind him to Ridley’s warnings, the two find themselves in a bloody situation where they learn unicorns are magical creatures, but not the demure and friendly kind, but more so like something out of a Grimm’s Fairytale.

Cast and Character(s)

Ridley (Jenna Ortega)

College-aged Ridley has mainly focused on art and school recently. While she still loves her father, she knows that with the death of her mom, he went deeply into provider mode and pretty much turned off being everything else she would need. So, when she needs what she wishes he would give, she hits her vape pen.

Elliot (Paul Rudd)

Elliot is a lawyer for a big-time pharmaceutical family. After losing his wife, he decided to marry his work at the cost of the relationship he could have with his daughter.

Odell (Richard E. Grant)

Odell is the Leopold family’s patriarch, and with late-stage cancer, he is preparing his family and finances for after he passes.

Griff (Anthony Carrigan)

Griff is the head butler/manservant of the Leopold family at their estate.

Belinda (Téa Leoni)

Belinda is Odell’s wife, who handles much of the family’s philanthropy.

Shepard (Will Poulter)

Shepard, while he has the appearance of a mooch at times, is ambitious. However, his moral compass, like the rest of his family, even Elliot sometimes, is a bit off and makes him willing to do unethical things for money.

Other Review

Highlight(s)

If You Like Gruesome and Gory, It Gives You Something To Chew On [81/100]

“Death Of A Unicorn” is a violent movie. From Elliot bashing a unicorn’s head in, gun violence, people being ripped apart, partially eaten, and more? Oh, if there is one thing this undisputably delivers in, it is giving those who like a dash of violence and gore in their movies a fix.

On The Fence

Sometimes It Tries & Fails In The Worst Ways [76/100]

To give credit when credit is due, both Griff and Shepard create multiple funny moments throughout the film, and Jenna Ortega gives a slightly out-of-place performance, which gives a real sense of emotion as the unicorns become violent and she is deeply affected. But Ortega’s performance isn’t good enough to save the film, and neither Poulter nor Carrigan are consistent enough in delivering laughs to have you forgive this film often flopping when trying to make a joke.

In fact, I would say most of the comedy of “Death Of A Unicorn” falls flat, and what makes things bad is that you can often recognize when something is supposed to be a joke. Then, to make things worse, for Ortega primarily, as much as she tries to drive her connection to the unicorns, even Paul Rudd, the film makes her work like she has an ice pick and is trying to get to the center of a glacier. Rudd, with trying to balance playing a character trying to honor a promise to his wife and take care of their daughter, with being a bumbling, sometimes desperate, underling, doesn’t handle well the complexities that Elliot should have.

I’d even say, he offloads all the work his character should be doing to Ortega who is the only one who, for the most part, is able to balance out the expectations of a wild comedy, filled with violence, with the fact Ridley is experiencing a lot of unnatural trauma, while dealing with a dad who barely will talk about her mom because of his pain.

Overall

Our Rating (78/100): Mixed (Divisive)

When it comes to “Death Of A Unicorn” you can see the effort and may want to give grace since this is an original movie. However, as much as the comedy sometimes hits, more often than not it doesn’t, and while Ortega proves herself capable of being a leading lady, what she hasn’t necessarily mastered yet is crafting a performance so good, you don’t recognize the lack of effort from her scene partner, leading man, or what have you.

Hence the mixed label. “Death Of A Unicorn,” like so many A24 productions, is weird, different, and can be entertaining, but this isn’t the type that feels like it can surpass being niche and become a major hit. This more so benefits the A24 brand in attracting certain actors, directors, and writers, and catering to moviegoers who positively associate with the studio, than “it is a movie”Death Of A Unicorn” being worth seeing for the general public.

Movie Contains

DialogCursing (Rare)
ViolenceGun Violence, Violence Against Animals, Gore, Blood, Torture, Notable Fight Scenes
Sexual ContentNone
MiscellaneousDepiction of Corpses, Body Horror, Drinking, Drug Use, Smoking

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Amari is the founder and head writer of Wherever-I-Look.com and has been reviewing media since 2010. He approaches each production with hope, rooting for every story to succeed, and believes criticism should come from unmet potential, while praise is reserved for work that meets or exceeds expectations.