Death of a Unicorn

This movie could work with the strange premise and shoddy CGI. But, it requires characters to be likeable or at least relatable. That's the big issue here. It plays hard into the fame of Jenna Ortega. She's supposed to be the maiden with a pure heart. But, she comes off mores like an angst teenager with a terrible haircut. Paul Rudd is decent enough, but you find yourself getting annoyed with him immediately.

The Rich Family: take your typical evil greedy rich family and that's all you get here. They're ready to make a buck. That's their entire drive. There were hints of depth that were destroyed by misplaced comedy. When the father is standing, the son's immediately reaction was great. Then they went hokey.

In the end, this is a forgettable movie. The premise should carry it better, but the characters ruin it. The CGI is bad. But, you can let it pass if the characters are relatable. This movie fails here.

This is movie that without any high expectations delivers. The actors are familiar, fun to watch, and each has their fun moments. Jenna Ortega does well carrying the center and works well with Rudd, who plays himself basically. Carrigan is totally underutilized, his facial expressions from his character are pretty much many of the best parts, Pouter does well also. That being said, there was only so much to do with the outline. It had to go harder in either direction honestly to level up. I would have liked it to up the crazy and absurdity all around, it's a movie about unicorns in modern life so why hold back, ratchet it up.

'Death of a Unicorn' is potential-laden, though unfortunately I just never really got my teeth into this one. The whole set-up is severely underwhelming, the whole plot with the rich family just didn't do it for me. It does pick up at the conclusion, which is where I see the potential.

A movie solely about the Kintners and the unicorns could've been ace, especially if it lent into the fantasy side of it; almost if it was (iffy association incoming) 'How to Train Your Dragon'-esque, just with all the gore and death that this 2025 releaes does hold. The final scene, as oddly over the top as it is, shows the promise.

Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega are decent in their respective roles, not that I have any core moments to take from either of them here though. The Leopolds, as much as I wish they weren't in the film, are portrayed well enough by those on the screen, Will Poulter is minorly amusing to be fair.

I'm sure it'll work for a good many, but I can't say it did so for me.

I got to see an early screening and it was as expected, campy, gory with comedic elements. It was a good popcorn movie. Some people complained that it was stupid which I don't get because its a movie about unicorns... So of course its a bit dumb, that's the point.

I compare it to Cocaine Bear (2023) because they are both marketed to be a silly comedy with violence, but this was way better than Cocaine Bear. It's aiming to be a cult classic film but missed the mark a bit. Also, not that funny which was disappointing but it had some jump scares and gruesome deaths so I was still engaged the whole time.

The good- pretty cool lore and set up for the unicorns. Promising father-daughter set up, some good satire of the rich and powerful. Will Poulter is the best of the cast.

The bad- The father's character development felt very unearned, most of the movie I was praying for his bloody comeuppance. The rich family was too one-note for the amount of screen time they get. CGI was noticeably mediocre but understandable for a low budget movie.

With a rewrite or two, and some more money for CGI and action sequences, this could have been a sleeper surprise with genuine sequel potential as I really did like what they did with the unicorns. But because most all the characters were one-dimensional, the movie drags in the middle third as you wait for the inevitable. When it does finally happen, it's somewhat entertaining but let down by its poor CGI, so-so action sequences, and clunky plot resolution. The first two are forgivable given its budget, the third is not.

I don't regret watching this movie, I just wish that it had lived up to its potential.