Death Of A Unicorn

Bluesky

Death Of A Unicorn joins a long list of comedic creature features, a subgenre that's a product of colliding sensibilities generating Tremors felt far afield. Unlike Gremlins the rules of the supernatural set-up aren't delivered but discovered, and some of them accidentally.

Travelling to meet with the owners of a pharmaceutical firm, Elliot and daughter Ridley knock down the eponymous animal. Among many double-meanings and sly references to collapse-era capitalism is that a unicorn is a startup with a value over a billion dollars that's in private hands and unlisted at stock exchanges. Paul Rudd's character is the company's head of ethics and there's enough irony in his behaviour that it'd keep any of the fairy kingdom at bay.

Ridley's played by Jenna Ortega, part of a stellar cast that a big part of what makes Death Of A Unicorn so charming. Her name's one of several nods to Alien. I include among those the number plate NO57RMO after Ridley Scott's Ripley's ship. I know that's a deliberate nod because it appears on a Land Rover in the garage and not the similarly coloured Mini that wears it in real life. I'll admit that there's probably very few folk who'll bother to check vehicle registrations as a matter of course. If there's one lesson that horror films can teach though, it's to pay attention.

Alex Scharfman, writer, director, and making his feature début, clearly has paid attention. There's a reference to fen-phen, a combination of medicines that were marketed as anti-obesity medications but drew controversy over its use in a study to predict 'delinquent behaviour' in Black and Hispanic youths. If you didn't know that you might think it a reference to fentanyl, a 1970s era drug whose resurgence in parallel with the opioid crisis has made it a staple in American cop shows. Or you might think it a person's name. It's a feat to craft a line that lands as deftly for different understandings.

There's some quality stuff on the soundtrack, a bit of Cocteau Twins, a bit of St Vincent. There's some good creature effects too, the unicorn and its magic are well depicted. There's some good production design as well. Reclusive hippy drug plutocrat Odell has layers, like an onion or an ogre.

I fell down a rabbit-hole of trying to associate names of characters with the Alien franchise. Elliot didn't fit at first, but I eventually put my finger on it. There's too many for me to think it accidental, but even if it were it speaks to a sense of fun. Knowing nods throughout include some critiques of capitalist consumption that do feel a little forced when they're delivered by movie stars.

That said, were this not an A24 production it's vanishingly unlikely that names like Richard E Grant, Tea Leoni or even Will Poulter would be attached. Anthony Carrigan does get some good moments but Jessica Hynes is under-used as Shaw, the head of household security. Less house- than bee-keeper she's apparently got contingency plans for all sorts of situations.

She's not alone in planning ahead. I'm not sure if Burke's greatest mistake in Aliens was not having a mood board but it couldn't have done any harm. Ridley's careful study of mythology doesn't help when her audience cares more about profits than prophecy.

It's clearer to those watching where things are going but that's the essence of genre. In both horror and comedy there's delight from knowing what's likely to happen, and also in having those expectations subverted. Where Death Of A Unicorn struggles is with the weight of expectation that comes from that sense of comedy horror.

The alchemy of film means that sometimes this amount of gold can still feel leaden. That subtlety cuts both ways. As a film it's either not funny or not scary enough. It manages both in places, but its humour is unbalanced. It's easy to be sanguine in the face of scenes whose surprises are given away in the trailer. Phlegmatic reservation of judgement includes places where it seems the film hopes for more of a reaction. It's not deserving of bile, it's just a bit disappointing and not only to jaded or jaundiced audiences.

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