A24’s new filmDeath of a Unicorn,the feature directorial debut of Alex Scharfman, was released in theaters on March 28th, 2025. Following a father and daughter who accidentally end up in battle with a family of unicorns, it stars Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Will Poulter, Richard E. Grant, Téa Leoni, Anthony Carrigan, and more.Like most horror comedies of our time,Death of a Unicornis more than just a (genuinely kind of horrifying) romp, but a somewhat layered social commentary. So, what’s the “point” ofDeath of a Unicorn’s semi-ambiguous ending? And how does the ending tie into the film’s general explorations of wealth and the exploitation of nature?
Death of a Unicorn
What Happens in ‘Death of a Unicorn’?
Elliot Kitner (Rudd) is a lawyer who has been working for Odell Leopald (Grant), a millionaire bigwig, for several years. Mr. Leopald has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and is consequently looking for someone to take over his enterprise. Hopeful that he will be Mr. Leopald’s pick, Elliot, and his college-aged daughter, Ridley (Ortega), take a road trip to the Leopalds' remote home on a nature reserve for a weekend summit. In the car, Ridley expresses her discontent at having to take the trip, but Elliot assures her that it is important for them to secure their financial futures. Elliot’s wife and Ridley’s mother recently passed away, leaving the relationship between them distressed.The two bicker but are suddenly interrupted when Eliott accidentally hits a unicorn with his car.
Startled and confused, the Kitners decide to put the creature out of its misery and put it in their car. However, this is not before Ridley manages to touch the unicorn’s horn.When she does so, she has a trance-like vision and forms a soul bond with the animal, which they now believe to be dead. The Kitners make it to the Leopalds' exorbitant home with the unicorn secretly in tow, where they meet Odell’s son,Shepherd (Poulter) and wife (Leoni).
Before long, they discover that the unicorn is not, in fact, dead. The Leopalds shoot and seize the unicorn and hire scientists to begin studying the creature. Soon,they discover that unicorn horn dust has healing properties and can even cure cancer. Once Odell is cured, the Leopalds decide that they will seize this lucrative business venture and sell the remaining finite unicorn dust to the highest bidder. Ridley, having done a lot of research on tapestries and folklore since arriving, warns against messing with the unicorns and going against nature, but goes ignored, including by her own father.
The Prophecy Foretold
Before long, of course, it turns out that Ridley was decidedly correct. Turns out the unicorn that the Leopalds have in their possession is a baby, and the parents (larger, grayer, and much more terrifying) soon show up at the house ready to take revenge.One by one, the unicorns slaughter each of the Leopalds and their staff. At the final hour, Shepherd announces to the group that he has discovered (while high on unicorn dust) that unicorns' only weakness is a “fair maiden.“Shepherd suggests that they sacrifice Ridley, for he is stilldetermined to capture unicorns for breeding. This is Elliott’s final straw. He finally quits his job and runs off with the coveted baby unicorn horn, leading the unicorns away long enough for Ridley to escape to the car. She is stopped before she can get to safety by Shepherd, who uses her to lure the unicorns.
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Shepherd’s plan works, and the unicorns lie at Ridley’s feet.Elliott returns and promptly stabs Shepherd with the unicorn horn to protect Ridley, who then promptly stabs him back. Both men lay on the verge of death beforeShepherd is stomped to death by the unicorn.As Ridley weeps over her father’s bleeding body, he tells her to tell him what she saw when she touched the unicorn’s horn earlier.
Denied the opportunity several times to talk about her experience with the unicorn, Elliot gives his daughter this final chance to connect with him. Ridley describes seeing a sort of heaven as Elliot slowly fades away.Then, the unicorns, seeing a crying Ridley, tap their horns together and magically resurrect Elliot and the unicorn baby. The unicorns run off into the sunset and Elliot and Ridley tearfully reunite. Then, the police arrive.
How Does ‘Death of a Unicorn End’?
Elliott and Ridley, now in the precarious situation of being surrounded by about a dozen dead bodies and having to blame them on unicorns, are loaded into a cop car. They have a new optimistic outlook on life, though, funnily enough. They smile at each other, and Elliott lets Ridley know that he saw it too. The cop in the front seat remarks to dispatch that they will likely not believe the survivors' stories, and mere moments later, she notices something strange outside the window. The three unicorns are running along the side of the road. The unicorns run up to the cop’s car long enough to give Ridley and Elliot a knowing look. Elliott and Ridley buckle up and cover their heads, aware of what the unicorns are likely to do. Sure enough,the unicorns then barrel the car off the road as the screen fades to black.
Ending Explained: Did Riley and Elliot Die?
It is clear, as far as the unicorns pushing the car off the road goes, thatthe unicorns were trying to aid Ridley and Elliot. The unicorns feel bonded to Ridley, their “Fair Maiden,” as the prophecy foretold, and thus want to protect her from her captors. In fact, director Alex Scharfman recently confirmed this part of the puzzle himself, saying, “They’re kind of like, ‘Yeah, okay, great. You’re being held captive, we’ll smash the car and see what happens, but certainly not understanding the social implications or the mechanical.'”
Death of a Unicornas a whole plays a lot with this idea of nature trumping social/technological conventions.As hard as humans may attempt to take advantage of nature for their own selfish reasons, for greed, fame, or even medical research, it is a force more powerful and that will always triumph. LikeMickey 17,The Menu,Ready or Not, andother wealth-centric horror comediesthat came before it, it has a central metaphor (in this case, unicorns) for finite valuable resources and the extreme lengths people will go to secure them. Until they are murdered themselves, the Leopalds will stop at nothing to capture the unicorns despite the constant threat to everyone’s lives. Well, as it is written, so it shall be, and only the Fair Maiden (and the one she loves, her father) will make it through. We cannot fight nature.
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The ending ofDeath of a Unicornties the film’s themes together nicely with a little bow. At its core,Death of a Unicornis a tale of a father-daughter bond, and it reminds us how nurturing family relationships should be a priority over career. We get to see how, when Ridley and Elliot actually listen to each other, they are rewarded. Furthermore, the ending confirms that there were clear good guys and bad guys in this story, and those that prioritize living things over money will be spared (and saved from cop cars).
Lastly, Scarfman probably just thought it would be fun tosee some unicorns go berserk. While we do not know exactly what will become of Riley and Elliot as they descend from a cliff in a cop car, we can assume that with the unicorns watching over them, they might just be alright.
Death of a Unicornis in theaters everywhere now.
