There’s something cathartic and satisfying about watching crazed unicorns eviscerate a rotten Sackler-like family that is intent on profiteering from the corpse of one of those magical beasts.
And it is in those vengeance-seeking moments that director Alex Scharfman’s satirical, ultra-gory creature feature succeeds, as a slap to the face of rampant greed and billionaire cluelessness. Where it comes up short is being a scary monster movie and a legit family drama. Its weak CGI effects aren’t convincing and simply don’t induce any “Jurassic Park”-like heebie-jeebies.
“Unicorn” bounces all over the place and rams into too many genres. The central relationship between Ridley (Jenna Ortega) and her lawyer dad Elliot (Paul Rudd) — an underwritten character — rings hollow, while the mythological unicorn elements thrown in seem rote and underdeveloped.
It starts with immense promise. While driving to Elliot’s employers’ sprawling estate for a weekend meeting, Elliot bashes a rental car into a legendary beast and then stuffs its dead body in the back. Shortly after they arrive at the Leopolds’ outrageous mansion the family there realizes a unicorn is in the car, a discovery that summons a couple of researchers who then mine the mystical properties of its horn to help terminally ill family patriarch Odell (Richard E. Grant).
The best surprises emanate from two sources: a hilarious turn from Will Poulter as Odell’s son, and the screenplay’s zinger-like putdowns of the patronizing, self-absorbed ultra-rich. Poulter fully embraces his role as a pretty-boy, striped shorts-wearing member of the entitled class – a narcissistic dolt who bellows out demands to “the staff” and aligns entirely with the film’s intention to rotisserie the rich. His performance is so good it’s reason to see the film.
Aiding him in making the Leopolds one of the most disgusting families you’ll meet onscreen is Téa Leoni. She plays Belina, family matriarch and dubious do-gooder who possesses a cavernous soul. Leoni too knows what to do, switching from faux caring to outright greed with one blink of the eye. Those performances sustain “Death of a Unicorn” and give it the steady magic this all-over-the-map film sadly too often lacks.
Contact Randy Myers@soitsrandy@gmail.com.
‘DEATH OF A UNICORN’
2½ stars out of 4
Rating: R (violence, gore, some language)
Starring: Jenna Ortega, Paul Rudd, Téa Leoni, Richard E. Grant, Wil Poulter
Director: Alex Scharfman
Running time: 1 hour, 47 minutes
When & where: Opens March 28 in theaters nationwide