Death of a Unicorn is 2025’s most gleefully gruesome movie
It's giving Jurassic Park x E.T. - but with a lot more gore.
Death of a Unicorn is undoubtedly one of the more imaginative and gory films you’ll see in 2025, silly and savage in equal measure – even if it can’t quite live up to the promise of its juicy premise.
The A24 comedy–horror, written and directed by Alex Scharfman in his feature-length debut, has attracted a star-studded cast led by Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega thanks to its wacky tale of corporate greed and magical unicorns.
When Elliot (Rudd) and his teenage daughter Ridley (Ortega) accidentally injure a unicorn foal on the way to the estate of Elliot’s sickly but pharmaceutically wealthy boss Odell Leopold (Richard E Grant), they discover the healing properties of its blood spatter, which fixes her acne and his allergies and long-sightedness.
Ridley is also left with a mental link to the unicorns after she touches the foal’s horn and experiences visions on a cosmic level, causing her to worry over its treatment.
However, the cancer-stricken Odell and his grotesque family – luxury wife Belinda (Téa Leoni) and their vacuous son Shepard (Will Poulter, having the best time of anyone) – very quickly see how they can benefit thanks to the medicinal power of these mythical beasts.
Or as Shepard crows: ‘They’re going to hate us on the non-profit circuit – nice knowing you, cancer charities, am I right?’
