Movie Title: Death of a Unicorn
Release Date: March 8, 2025 — SXSW world premiere; March 28, 2025 — North American theatrical release
Runtime: 107 minutes / 1 hr 47 min
Director: Alex Scharfman
Screenplay Written By: Alex Scharfman
Based On: Original screenplay
Is it a remake?: No. This is an original 2025 dark fantasy comedy-horror film and Alex Scharfman’s feature directorial debut.

Main Cast:

Paul Rudd as Elliot Kintner
Jenna Ortega as Ridley Kintner
Will Poulter as Shepard Leopold
Téa Leoni as Belinda Leopold
Richard E. Grant as Odell Leopold
Anthony Carrigan as Griff
Sunita Mani as Dr. Bhatia
Jessica Hynes as Shaw
Steve Park as Dr. Song
David Pasquesi as Pilot
Denise Delgado as Ridley’s Mom
Kathryn Erbe as Tapestry Video Narrator

Budget:

Estimated $15 million.

Box Office:

Worldwide gross: approximately $16.4 million.
Domestic opening weekend: approximately $5.8 million; Box Office Mojo weekend reporting lists a second-weekend gross of $2,696,929 and a domestic running total of $8,484,354 at that point.
Distributor: A24.

Awards:

Insufficient verified data. No major Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe, or major critics’ award nominations/wins were verified in the checked sources.

Short Plot Summary:

A father and daughter accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while driving to a weekend retreat hosted by Elliot’s billionaire employer. Once the family discovers the creature’s miraculous healing properties, they attempt to exploit it for profit. The situation escalates when other unicorns arrive seeking revenge. The film combines creature-feature horror, dark comedy, family tension, and class satire.

Key Quotes:

“What I can say with total confidence is that Elliot here has hit a… a horse-like Mammalia vertebral.” — Shepard
“I think we know exactly what this is.” — Ridley
Tagline: “Payback is a beast.”
Tagline: “They’re going to make a killing.”

Trivia

Director:
- Alex Scharfman wrote and directed the film, marking his feature directorial debut.
- Scharfman previously worked as a producer before moving into the director’s chair for this project.
- Scharfman described the movie as built around medieval unicorn mythology, class critique, and the creature-feature structure.
- He specifically discussed the idea of unicorns as symbols of purity, corruption, and human exploitation rather than simply cute fantasy creatures.
Cast / Casting:
- Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega were announced as the film’s leads in May 2023.
- Richard E. Grant, Téa Leoni, Will Poulter, Anthony Carrigan, Sunita Mani, Jessica Hynes, and Steve Park were later announced as part of the ensemble cast in November 2023.
- Rudd and Ortega play a father-daughter duo, Elliot and Ridley, whose strained relationship is central to the film’s setup.
- Kathryn Erbe has a brief voice-role cameo as the tapestry video narrator.
Soundtrack / Score:
- The final score was composed by Dan Romer and Giosuè Greco.
- John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, and Daniel Davies were originally attached to score the film before Romer and Greco took over.
- The official trailer used a version of “Good Vibrations” by The Beach Boys.
- St. Vincent released the soundtrack song “DOA” on March 28, 2025.
Location:
- The film was shot primarily in Hungary, with Budapest serving as a principal production location.
- Some location reporting identifies Slovenia for an airport scene and Hungary as the main filming country.
- Additional location coverage says the production used Hungary’s forests, estates, and scenic landscapes to stand in for the film’s remote retreat setting.
Behind-The-Scenes:
- Filming began in Hungary in July 2023.
- The production was able to continue during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike because A24 was not part of the AMPTP and the project received a waiver.
- The film was produced by companies including Ley Line Entertainment, Square Peg, Secret Engine, Monoceros Media, and The Royal Budapest Film Co.
- Ari Aster served as an executive producer.
- Scharfman described the movie as a technically involved production because of creature effects and large set construction.
- IMDb technical listings identify the film’s aspect ratio as 2.39:1 and its camera system as ARRI Alexa 35 with Zeiss Master Anamorphic lenses.
Nostalgia:
- The movie plays against the traditional pop-culture image of unicorns as gentle, magical, child-friendly creatures by turning them into dangerous mythological predators.
- Scharfman referenced medieval unicorn mythology and the famous unicorn tapestries as part of the film’s conceptual foundation.
- The film belongs to the modern wave of “eat-the-rich” horror-comedies and creature features, using a monster-movie premise to satirize wealth, pharmaceutical exploitation, and corporate greed.
Easter Eggs:
- IMDb connections notes that The Stargate was cited as an inspiration by Scharfman for the moment when Ridley experiences cosmic visions.
- The film’s tapestry-video narration directly ties the plot back to medieval unicorn mythology and noble-class hunting imagery.
- The title itself plays like a dark inversion of fantasy-movie expectations: instead of discovering a unicorn as a symbol of wonder, the characters immediately turn it into a resource to exploit.
Misc:
- The film premiered at the Paramount Theatre during SXSW on March 8, 2025.
- It became available to stream on HBO Max / Max beginning July 25, 2025.
- The film received mixed reviews from critics.
- The MPA rated the film R for strong violent content, gore, language, and some drug use.