SAN JOSE, CALIF.— A24’s newest film, “Death of a Unicorn,” came out on Friday, March 28.

We would recommend anyone who likes horror movies and mythical creatures to watch since it’s a mixture of both and anyone who’s interested in seeing how this movie plays out. Our overall rating is a 7.5/10 because the movie was funny, interesting and thrilling, however the plot wasn’t anything that we haven’t seen before. 

There has been quite a bit of popularity surrounding the movie. Shawn Mahina, an usher at Cinemark theater, says  “Around 600 hundred people have bought tickets for death of a unicorn this week.” 

The movie is a fast-moving horror film centered around what happens when a death of a unicorn occurs. The film portrays Elliot, played by Paul Rudd, and his daughter Ridley, played by Jenna Ortega, driving to a wealthy CEO’s wilderness retreat when they strike what appears to be a horse in the middle of a roadway. They are left with the aftermath of this creature’s death once they arrive at the retreat and have to experience the consequences. 

The film produces an eerie take on the mythical legend of the unicorn, a horse adjacent animal with a long horn protruding atop its head. Typically, mentions of unicorns in the media are seen as whimsical and rather whimsical and fairytale-like. However, “Death of a Unicorn” depicts unicorns as mysterious creatures that can become vengeful, discovered by Ridley’s research.  

Even though the movie is illustrated as a horror, there is no short of comedic deliveries even with the dire situation of the plot. They try to enlighten the mood by being funny, but it simultaneously  focuses on the issue in hand—the death of the unicorn and how they can use its properties to its full potential for profit. 

We believe that overall, the movie had very suspenseful moments that captivated our attention in several ways. Scenes that included unnerving sounds and jump scares fulfilled the ‘horror’ aspect of the movie. Furthermore, the cinematography was well executed. In particular, the CGI and sound effects brought life to the watching experience.

Nonetheless, the cohesion of the plot wasn’t as smooth as we’d hoped. During the height of the action, the shift between different characters and settings felt sudden rather than a nice transition. Additionally, the climax was predictable and we were able to figure out the possibilities of the next scene.

A  lesson we took away from this movie was to not take things that are not yours because it can lead to bad things and lose who you are as a person. When Elliot saw the possible figures he could make when helping out the family, he decided to prioritize helping them and pushed Ridleys and his relationship away.