Loads of fun! Death of a Unicorn is Atypical for A24 in all the best ways possible. It’s entertaining, well-written, and smartly balances horror and comedy. While it delivers the social critiques and commentary that are par for the A24 course, the outside/action plotting is strong!

When a man and his daughter accidentally hit and kill a unicorn with their car, his boss tries to exploit the creature’s miraculous curative properties — with horrific results.

While the first act drags a bit, the rest of the movie is a wildly engaging roller coaster ride as folklore and the contemporary world collide in a unicorn gorefest that simultaneously explores the flawed nature of a self-centered moral compass and acts of greed disguised as altruism. Knowing very little of actual unicorn mythology and lore, this movie piqued my curiosity to learn more about these magical creatures because the literary and cultural history is rather fascinating.

Looking to the unicorns themselves, this movie employs a combination of both practical and digital effects to bring the illusive creatures to life. By combining puppetry and computer generated imagery, the unicorns feel lifelike and the reactions from the cast appear to be borne out of genuine fear and desperation for survival. Speaking of the cast, I feel that Rudd and Ortega were miscast in the movie. I don’t buy either one of them in their respective roles, and feel that a better casting may have helped the delivery of the first act.

Clearly, writer-director Alex Scharfman has a fondness for old school creature features, and I can appreciate much of how he adapted the classic creature feature to fit a contemporary sensibility. Death of a Unicorn could become a modern creature feature that is revisited throughout the years–only time will tell.

What I appreciate most is that you can read the whole critique on big Pharma and abuse of natural resources and exploitation of wildlife, BUT you could just as easily enjoy it for the Jurassic Park-inspired survival story. Honestly, it did JP better than JP3 onward.

While I may not be high on the first act or the casting of the two leads, this is still one of my favorite A24 films. In fact, it probably ranks as the most entertaining A24 release for me.

Ryan is the general manager for 90.7 WKGC Public Media in Panama City and host of the public radio show ReelTalk about all things cinema. Additionally, he is the author of the upcoming film studies book titled Monsters, Madness, and Mayhem: Why People Love Horror. After teaching film studies for over eight years at the University of Tampa, he transitioned from the classroom to public media. He is a member of the Critics Association of Central Florida and Indie Film Critics of America. If you like this article, check out the others and FOLLOW this blog! Follow him on Twitter: RLTerry1 and LetterBoxd: RLTerry