‘Death Of A Unicorn' Reviews: Do Critics Believe In Jenna Ortega Horror Comedy?

Forbes

28-03-2025

Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega in "Death of a Unicorn."
Jenna Ortega and Paul Rudd's horror comedy Death of a Unicorn is new in theaters this weekend. How real is the concept of the movie for critics?
The official logline for Death of a Unicorn reads, 'A father (Rudd) and daughter (Ortega) accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while en route to a weekend retreat, where his billionaire boss (Richard E. Grant) seeks to exploit the creature's miraculous curative properties.'
Written and directed by Alex Scharfman, Death of a Unicorn also stars Téa Leoni, Will Poulter, Sunita Mani, Jessica Hynes, Steve Park and Anthony Carrigan.
As of Thursday, Death of a Unicorn has received a collective rating of 57% 'rotten' from 103 reviews from Rotten Tomatoes critics.
The RT Critics Consensus reads, 'Receiving some sparkle from Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega's father-daughter rapport, Death of a Unicorn's broad satire is a bit too on the horn but makes for an entertainingly splattery creature feature.'
As of the publication of this report, RT had yet to post an audience rating on its Popcornmeter, which is based on verified user ratings.
Among the top RT critics who give Death of a Unicorn a 'rotten' rating is Kyle Smith, who writes in the Wall Street Journal, 'What if unicorns were vicious killers?' is the kind of idea that might sound cool in certain contexts — say, at sixth-grade recess — but it doesn't yield much of a movie.'
Nick Schager shared Smith's sentiments in his 'rotten' review for The Daily Beast, writing, 'Unlike its unique and fantastical title creature, it's a commonplace monster mash which serves up only frenzied commotion and tired social commentary.'
RT critic Moira MacDonald also didn't sense any magic in Death of a Unicorn, penning in her review for the Seattle Times, 'Horror comedy, alas, is a tricky balance, and making a movie dance on a unicorn's horn is trickier still; this one clearly needed a little more unicorn dust.'
Death of a Unicorn did, however, find some supporters among RT's top critics, including Bob Mondello of NPR,who writes, 'The film would have benefitted from a tighter edit and a bigger effects budget, but its principals -- especially Jenna Ortega as the only person on screen with a conscience, and Will Poulter as her polar opposite -- are clearly having a ball.'
Also enjoying the ride of Death of a Unicorn is Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence, who writes on RT, "You can only consider 'eat the rich' to be a zeitgeist-y concept if you forget about things like the French Revolution, but in these post-Succession/billionaire-dominated times, it doesn't feel like a surprise that these stories have a cathartic effect.'
Rated R, Death of a Unicorn, starring Jenna Ortega and Paul Rudd, opens in theaters on Friday.