The Stream: Jenna Ortega is insufferable and not enough killer unicorns.

The Big Screen: A very fun cross between comedy and monster movie.

The Final Bill: A premise with a lot of potential gets derailed by annoying characters and lack of focus on killer unicorns.

– Trip Fontaine
Director: Alex Scharfman
Writers: Alex Scharfman
Stars: Jenna Ortega, Paul Rudd, Anthony Carrigan, Richard E. Grant, Téa Leoni, Will Poulter
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
Rating: Rated R for strong violent content, gore, language and some drug use.
Runtime: 1 hour 41 minutes
Production Companies: A24, Square Peg, Secret Engine, Ley Line Entertainment, Monoceros Media
Platform: In theaters March 28, 2025
Notable Trailers: Drop, Materialists, Friendship

Alright, Streamers! It is always great to have new movies with clever ideas and not just another IP rehash. Who wants just another sequel! Am I right? Anyway, Death of a Unicorn has an interesting premise that mashes up comedy, fantasy and a monster movie. In this movie, Elliott (Paul Rudd) and his daughter, Ridley (Jenna Ortega), go to the secluded estate to his meet Odell Leopold (Richard E. Grant), a pharmaceutical CEO, and his family where Elliott hopes to secure his position in the Leopold’s company. On the way, Elliott hits a unicorn with their car seemingly killing the mythical creature. Elliott doesn’t have time to deal with the consequences of this accident until it may be too late. Family drama and horned-mayhem hijinks ensue.

Death of a Unicorn is a great title for a movie and gives the movie a lot of potential directions to go. Unfortunately, Alex Scharfman’s screenplay focuses too much on a lame subplot/family drama between Elliott and Ridley instead of the murderous unicorns and all that comes with that. It’s not funny enough and it misses the details of unicorn lore that should have been prominent. Moreover, the characters of Elliott and Ridely are so annoying that it is both distracting and repulsive. Paul Rudd is such a likeable actor that it’s sad to see him saddled with a dud like Elliott. I don’t really care for Jenna Ortega to begin with and then she’s this petulant and annoying character – it just makes it worse and bordering on insufferable. I will say that both Tea Leoni as Odell’s wife and Will Poulter as Odell’s son are very funny. They bring life to their characters and have the best lines throughout the movie. Thank goodness for them!

On the other hand, Death of a Unicorn does have fun moments involving the unicorns. There are graphic and funny kills. Scharfman has framed the movie like Jurassic Park except with unicorns. Those parts are entertaining, but they come too late in the movie and are too infrequent. Also, I think the special effects of the unicorns is very cartoon-y and bad. There are certain shots that look cheap and dark, and that’s pretty disappointing.

Ultimately, Death of a Unicorn started with an interesting and funny idea, but it gets sidetracked with a lame family storyline and annoying characters. While there is mayhem from angry unicorns, it takes too long to get to the exciting parts, and it just isn’t as funny as it could be. This movie is only worth a handful of popcorn. Catch it when it hits a streaming service.