’Corn killers: Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega play father and daughter in Death of a Unicorn. Photo / Supplied
’Corn killers: Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega play father and daughter in Death of a Unicorn. Photo / Supplied
Death of a Unicorn, directed by Alex Scharfman, is out now.
Rating out of five: ★★★½
At the other end of the revenue-gathering spectrum from the Minecraft school holiday movie comes a delightful slice of originality from a first-time feature director with a cool idea.
The ridiculously fun conceit inthis horror comedy involves a playing-it-straight Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega (Wednesday) as father and daughter Elliot and Ridley Kintner.
As they drive to an important business meeting, they hit a unicorn that wanders across the road. Their injured magical creature is then discovered by the nefarious pharmaceutical company Elliot works for, and a battle ensues between gaining proprietary rights to use the beast’s lavender blood as a healing agent and fending off the unicorn’s avenging family.
This may sound like utter nonsense, but writer-director Alex Scharfman deserves kudos for thinking outside the square.
In the brilliantly witty script, his characters effortlessly juggle the deadpan incredulity of encountering a mystical beast (“Do you think it’s endangered?” mutters Elliot) with the real-world preoccupations of capitalism and corruption.
Death of a Unicorn further succeeds as a clever satire of corporate greed and as a surprising lesson in art history. It’s all delivered by fantastically tongue-in-cheek performances from an entertaining cast which includes Richard E. Grant and Will Poulter.
Scharfman has been producing other people’s little-seen movies for years, but his personal feature debut is admirable in both idea and execution.
The tale is beautifully shot in a gorgeously art-designed mansion where the pharmaceutical family rule their empire. As son and heir, Shepard (Poulter) is hilariously arrogant in his loafers and short shorts, desperate to gain his father’s approval. As wife Belinda, Madam Secretary’s Téa Leoni panders to patriarch Leopold while Grant delivers one of his best performances in years.
This all helps for when the wheels come off the action in Act 3, but there’s still plenty to enjoy and it’s easy to forgive the plot holes. The CGI unicorns look a bit Jurassic Park circa 1993, whether by design or budgetary restraint. But credit to the fine cast who take the surreal and treat it real.
