A weekend retreat has deadly consequences when a father and daughter accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while en route to find his billionaire boss, who seeks to exploit the creature’s miraculous curative properties. A film by Alex Scharfman, starring Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Will Poulter, Anthony Carrigan, Sunita Mani, Stephen Park, Jessica Hynes, Téa Leoni, and Richard E. Grant.

On the drive to Odell Leopold’s sprawling lodge in the Leopold Wilderness Reserve, Elliot (Paul Rudd) is traveling with his estranged teenage daughter Ridley (Jenna Ortega). His frustration mounts when Odell’s butler Griffin calls demanding to know why they’re running late. Just as the conversation grows tense, the phone service cuts out mysteriously. When Elliot’s pollen allergy triggers a sudden sneeze, his eyes leave the road for just a moment, long enough for him to accidentally strike a creature that darts across their path.

Ridley notices the horse-like creature is still moving, so both she and Elliot get out of the car. Elliot grabs a tire iron and slowly approaches the creature, intending to put it out of its misery. As they move closer, they realize the animal isn’t a horse at all but an injured unicorn foal lying on the road, bleeding purple blood.

Suddenly, the unicorn’s horn begins to glow. Ridley feels drawn to the luminous spiral and reaches out to touch it. As her fingers make contact with the glowing horn, she slips into a trance, experiencing cosmic visions that overwhelm her senses. Elliot calls out to her frantically, but she remains unresponsive, lost in whatever otherworldly connection she’s experiencing.

The trance breaks only when Elliot, panicking, begins striking the unicorn’s head repeatedly with his tire iron until the creature stops moving. As he attacks, purple blood sprays across Ridley’s face and splatters into Elliot’s eyes.

Since his wife’s death, Elliot has been determined to provide everything Ridley needs. However, his boss Odell has requested that Elliot bring his daughter along for a weekend getaway at his luxurious lodge. The invitation isn’t just social. Odell wants to get to know Elliot’s family and assess whether he’s suitable to represent the Leopold pharmaceutical empire. Fearing trouble if someone discovers the dead unicorn on the road, Elliot loads the creature’s body into the back of their SUV. He plans to find an opportune moment to bury it somewhere discreet later.

Later, Elliot discovers he no longer needs his farsighted glasses to read and his allergies have vanished. Ridley notices the acne on her face has miraculously disappeared. Suddenly, their car begins shaking violently, as if something inside is trying to get out. The commotion draws everyone’s attention, including Odell (Richard E. Grant), his wife Belinda (Téa Leoni), their son Shepard (Will Poulter), butler Griff (Anthony Carrigan), and head of security Shaw (Jessica Hynes).

To their shock, the unicorn foal has come back to life and smashes through the car window in its attempt to escape. Shaw reacts quickly, shooting the unicorn foal in the head and killing it instantly. When terminally ill Odell learns that the unicorn’s blood fixed Elliot’s eyesight, cured his allergies, and cleared Ridley’s acne, he becomes hopeful. Perhaps the unicorn’s blood contains some inexplicable miracle that could cure his illness as well.

Since touching the unicorn’s horn, Ridley feels inexplicably connected to the creature. While looking through old photos of her late mother taken at the Met Cloisters, she notices a tapestry with a unicorn in the background. Curious, Ridley opens her MacBook and begins searching for unicorn tapestries. She learns that “The Unicorn in Captivity” is part of the Cloisters’ Medieval Collection known as “The Unicorn Tapestries,” considered among the most beautiful and complex works surviving from the Middle Ages. The seven tapestries illustrate a cautionary tale about a Lord and his hunters pursuing a mystical unicorn that defends itself and proves untameable. The creature is only pacified when entranced by a purehearted maiden. After being killed, the unicorn is brought to a castle where it mysteriously resurrects, only to be kept in captivity.

The Met Cloisters is a branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art located in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is the only American museum dedicated exclusively to the art and architecture of the Middle Ages, specifically focusing on the Romanesque and Gothic periods. Opened in 1938, the museum is situated within Fort Tryon Park and overlooks the Hudson River. The Met Cloisters houses over 5,000 works of European medieval art, including sculptures, tapestries, illuminated manuscripts, stained glass, metalwork, and panel paintings. Notable highlights include the famous Unicorn Tapestries and the Mérode Altarpiece.

However, the tapestry depicting the unicorn and the maiden is incomplete, having been damaged during the French Revolution. It was later reconstructed and restored to its original form, revealing that the unicorn is actually a vengeful and violent beast. Its mercilessness and ferocity are matched only by humanity’s desperate desire to possess it. Terrified by this discovery, Ridley becomes convinced something terrible is about to happen. She pleads with Elliot to leave immediately, but he won’t listen.

Written and directed by American filmmaker Alex Scharfman in his directorial debut, “DEATH of a UNICORN” is a horror comedy that follows a man and his estranged daughter who find themselves entangled in a series of terrifying events after accidentally killing a mythical unicorn foal on the road.

I love mythical creatures, horror, and dark comedy, and this film has it all. While the killer unicorn concept isn’t entirely new, I’ve never seen it executed on a scale that blends comedy and horror so wonderfully before.

The cast delivers impressive performances with great chemistry and perfect timing, particularly Jenna Ortega with her amazing deadpan delivery. The premise is compelling, and the world-building is exceptional, enriched by detailed lore and ancient unicorn paintings that enhance its authenticity.

The film also features plenty of hilarious moments, evoking the spirit of Jurassic Park. I’ve always been a fan of Téa Leoni’s performance in Jurassic Park III, so it’s a bit sad that her character doesn’t survive in this one.

DEATH of a UNICORN premiered at the SXSW on 8 March 2025. The film was theatrically released in the United States on 28 March, by A24.