“Death of a Unicorn,” A24’s latest absurdist horror-comedy, has divided audiences ever since its premiere at South By Southwest film festival March 8. 

On paper, it certainly checks all the boxes one would expect from a movie of its genre and A24 archetype, including a stacked cast capable of drawing in audiences on name value alone: Paul Rudd (“Ant-Man”), Jenna Ortega (“Wednesday”) and Will Poulter (“Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3”) all make notable appearances, among others. But the concept of “Death of a Unicorn” is so promising that it was always going to leave a gap between expectations and reality by the time the credits rolled. 

In the film, Rudd plays a single father named Elliot who drags his brooding daughter Ridley (Ortega) to the manor of his employer, Odell Leopold (Richard E. Grant), an exorbitantly wealthy and elderly pharmaceutical CEO on his last leg. 

During the drive to the manor, Elliot’s plans to curry favor with Leopold take a left turn when they run over a unicorn, whose blood and horn are imbued with mystical healing powers. 

Ridley soon becomes the last line of defense against the greed of Leopold’s family — including Will Poulter as the CEO’s tech-bro son, Shepard Leopold — who all want to find and kill the rest of the unicorns to harvest their organs and sell them to their wealthy compatriots as miracle cures.

“Death of a Unicorn” is most enjoyable when it’s not read too deeply as a film attempting to make a nuanced statement on corporate American greed. It’s far from subtle in this regard, trampling audiences with basic political commentary that feels like a baby’s first “Eat The Rich” class awakening.

It doesn’t help that Ortega has been painfully type cast once again as the subordinate, anti-establishment teenager — an archetype audiences and perhaps even herself have been growing increasingly tired of.

Instead, “Death of a Unicorn” is best analyzed through the lens of an elevated horror-comedy with some witty dialogue, especially from Poulter, and some genuinely tense creature-horror scenes.

When older and much scarier-looking unicorns begin to seek revenge on the characters for experimenting on their almost-roadkill child, “Death of a Unicorn” begins to dip its toes into the under-utilized cosmic horror genre, which is the film’s strong point. Though it never gets quite as weird as it had the potential to be, there’s never a dull moment across the movie’s second half.

The creature designs of the unicorns are fascinating, with just enough of a twist on the classic fairy-tale prototype to fit comfortably within the horror genre. And the dynamic between the families — including a delightfully passive-aggressive performance from Téa Leoni as Leopold’s wife Belina — is enough to carry the movie, even in the absence of the unicorns. 

“Death of a Unicorn” is reminiscent of 2023’s internet darling “Saltburn” in more than one way; from its upper-class family drama to its shock value and vague political commentary, fans of this subgenre won’t leave the theater feeling disappointed. 

“Death of a Unicorn” is a fun hour-and-a-half — carried by a charismatic cast, visually interesting set and captivating creature design — but it might make audiences who wish for a deeper commentary in their movies a bit skittish.

Rating: 3.5/5

Las Vegas  — Sony Pictures Entertainment has revealed more about its big bet on the Beatles.

The studio will release four films about the Beatles — each following a different member of the band — all in April 2028, director Sam Mendes and Sony film Chairman Tom Rothman said Monday during a presentation at the CinemaCon trade convention in Las Vegas.

“Hold on, did I agree to that?” Rothman joked onstage to Mendes.

“You said it would be the first binge-able theatrical experience,” Mendes replied.

The Culver City studio rounded out its presentation by announcing the cast of the films and brought all four on stage. Paul Mescal will play Paul McCartney, Joseph Quinn will play George Harrison, Barry Keoghan will play Ringo Starr and Harris Dickinson will play John Lennon.

The four came onstage in black pants and shirts and took the Beatles bow.

The cast and crew will be in principal photography for just over a year, Mendes said.

He nodded to the tough last few years for theater owners, who first weathered the pandemic, then the dual writers and actors strikes in 2023, which limited their options for films. They are also still grappling with the loss of casual moviegoers, as well as an audience that got used to watching films from their couch.

“We need big cinematic events to get people out of the house,” Mendes said to big applause from the audience, which was largely composed of theater owners and entertainment industry types. “I promise it will be worth the trip.”