Ever since I first laid eyes on the killer unicorn rampaging down the halls of The Cabin in the Woods, I have wished for a horror film about that creature. What else could it do besides gore victims with its horn, I wondered? Would it have magical powers? Could you actually make unicorns scary? HBO Max said, “Hold my beer.”
For over a decade, it seemed these questions would never be answered. But this year, the dream was finally brought to fruition in writer/director Alex Scharfman’s debut feature horror comedy, Death of a Unicorn, one of this week’s most-watched films on HBO Max.
What’s Death of a Unicorn About?
Ridley (Jenna Ortega) and her father, Elliot (Paul Rudd), are en route to visit one of his clients deep in the mountains. On their way, Elliot hits an animal. Not just any animal, though. A baby unicorn. And in this world, unicorns aren’t the cute, cuddly creatures most fairy tales have made them out to be. They’re vicious, vengeful, and pissed off over billionaire Odell’s (Richard E. Grant) plan to harvest their magical blood into an elixir of immortality (something I’m certain the ageless Paul Rudd has already discovered).
A Silly Horror Film that Lives Up to Its Premise
Dread’s own Mary Beth McAndrews described Death of a Unicorn as, “a gloriously bloody odyssey about love, family, and the powers that lurk inside unicorn blood.”
This is why MB and I get along. While a good many critics have whinnied over the flaws of this tale about a majestic horse gone bad, we both agree that Death of a Unicorn delivers on the fantastical fun.
How could it not, with a cast featuring the likes of ageless wonder Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Richard E. Grant, Téa Leoni, and Will Poulter? Yes, Death of a Unicorn is beating a dead horse with its message of “eat the rich”. No, it does not reach the heights of Spielbergian awe and wonder that it sets out to capture. It’s more Jurassic World than Jurassic Park. By no means am I declaring this the unsung gem of 2025.
But it doesn’t need to be. Because while it may not have met the expectations some of us had that were as impossible to meet as unicorns themselves, it’s nevertheless an entertaining film that delivers on its premise of the horned steeds wreaking gruesome havoc. It also happens to make for a solid gateway horror entry at a time when I’d argue there aren’t enough mature movies for pre-teens looking to saddle up with their first R-rated genre film.
What did you think of Death of a Unicorn? Let me know on Bluesky @werematt.
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