Despite A24’s reputation, the production and distribution studio has had its fair share of stinkers. Some films with unique premises and approaches that attract the maverick studio are ultimately half-baked in their execution. Unfortunately, Death of a Unicorn is one such movie.
Pairing Paul Rudd with Jenna Ortega seems like the exact type of cross-generational oddball choice that would make for a strong A24 feature. Rudd plays a widowed man and lawyer loyal to a wealthy family. He is close to being brought on as a permanent business partner, as the patriarch is close to death’s door. The newfound wealth would set he and his daughter up for life. Ortega plays… well, herself, essentially. Yet another sarcastic, vaguely goth girl who is too smart for her own good. After striking a unicorn en route to the wealthy family’s retreat, they discover unicorn blood has amazing curative properties. Of course, the family must immediately start exploiting it.
The bones are in place for an off-kilter satire of the pharmaceutical industry, with the family’s fortune being directly based in medicine. The cast is funny when they are allowed to work with the admittedly witty dialogue and scenarios that dot this script. Richard E. Grant, Will Poulter, and Tea Leoni embrace their roles and get some great moments. Anthony Carrigan shines as the exasperated family servant.
But the film bears all the hallmarks of being caught between multiple tones and directions, and of a struggle to save it all in the editing bay. There are jarring moments of odd continuity jumps where it feels like the movie skips forward several scenes, and the dialogue feels like it is referencing things the audience hasn’t seen. An especially blatant jump comes near the end when it cuts from night to mid-morning in a single shot and there is no time gap implied.
The editing issues seem part and parcel with the film’s inability to decide what type of story it wants to be. Rather than leaning into the comedy and satire, it also attempts to be a horror movie at the same time. There are over-the-top moments of gore and other attempts at jump scares and the like. In a film that established the correct tone, these likely would be funny moments. Instead, the scenes don’t feel confident in their aims.
The satire and metaphors are also lackluster and shallow. Perhaps afraid of saying something too potent, Death of a Unicorn hovers around more biting commentary and delivers a limp prod rather than a scathing takedown of for-profit medicine. Instead, the film spends too much screentime having Ortega research medieval lore on unicorns as part of a typical “horror research” plot rather than exploring its central ideas.
Disappointingly, Rudd and Ortega themselves are the weakest part of the cast. Rudd is left to play the blandly affable guy that he’s decent at, but once again, the script stops there. The attempts to create drama based on a weakened father-daughter relationship and shared struggle to deal with the loss of a wife/mom are woefully underbaked. Likewise, Ortega never rises above her usual shtick, as previously mentioned.
Death of a Unicorn is destined for relegation into the surprisingly large backlog of forgotten A24 films. It squanders its fun premise and shambles in four different directions. If anything, it serves as a good lesson on why having a clear and strong hand in the writing and editing can make or break a piece of narrative art.
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