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Have we misunderstood unicorns all along? That’s the question posed by A24’s new horror-comedy, Death of a Unicorn. Directed by first-time feature filmmaker Alex Scharfman, the genre-bending satire stars Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega as a father-daughter duo who hit a unicorn with their car on the way to a luxurious wellness retreat. What follows is a chaotic chain of events that leaves most of the weekend’s guests forever changed.
The film, now playing in theaters, has quickly earned a reputation for flipping the fairy tale structure on its head. “These are some metal f—ing unicorns,” Scharfman told ScreenRant, referencing his vision of the creatures as primal forces of nature—not the sparkly, plush-toy versions that come to mind.
Rudd plays Elliot, a single dad attempting to reconnect with his teenage daughter Ridley (Ortega) over a weekend trip to his boss’s estate. But things take a dark turn when they discover that the unicorn’s body has mysterious healing abilities. Elliot and Ridley bring it to the estate, where the Leopold family begins studying it, unaware that the creature’s parents are on their way. Richard E. Grant, Téa Leoni, Will Poulter, Sunita Mani, and Anthony Carrigan round out the supporting cast.
“It’s suspenseful, and scary, gory…but it’s also funny,” Rudd said during a recent appearance on The Today Show. “I thought that tonally, this was going to be an interesting one to juggle because there’s so many genres that you don’t often see together.”
Despite its surreal premise, the film has a surprisingly emotional core. At its heart is Elliot’s moral reckoning. As Scharfman told ScreenRant, “By stabbing Shep, he loses a ton financially…but by rejecting it, he kind of places something more important over that,” referring to Elliot’s decision to value his daughter over personal gain. The film, Scharfman added, explores “the value structure that his daughter has been trying to impose upon him throughout the movie.”
Is Death of a Unicorn streaming yet?
The film is playing in theaters as of Friday, March 28. While A24 has not announced an official streaming release date, the film is expected to eventually land on Max, given A24’s existing distribution deal with Warner Bros. Discovery. Previous A24 releases, such as The Iron Claw and Priscilla, have followed a similar pattern.
In the meantime, viewers can head to their nearest theater to catch Death of a Unicorn on the big screen.
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