Death of a Unicorn (2025)

 

So far my favorite horror film of the year is this entry starring Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega along with some other veterans, in a tale that mixes fantasy and science. The easiest way to summarize this film is that it is a cross between science gone wrong movies and creature features. Think of it as Jurassic Park only with unicorns instead of dinosaurs.

An estranged father and daughter are traveling to a remote luxury retreat for a weekend so that he can be evaluated as a potential executor of a will for a dying millionaire. He already works for the company at a high level, but hopes to be entrusted with managing the heirs when they take over the company after the death of the patriarch. Rudd's character has brought his daughter, because he believes that the family that is about to lose its founder, values family above so many other things, that a demonstration of his own family values is necessary.

As usual I try to avoid giving away too much in the movie, if not entirely spoiler free, I certainly try to avoid things that make the movie distinct or valuable. Let's say that through a confluence of events, the patriarch, his family, they're small coterie of servants and the perspective executive are all soon threatened by some animals that are angry about the events taking place in the story. It is a little hard to warm up to most of these characters as they are either narcissistic or greedy and come off as entitled a holes, that or they are sniveling sycophants unable to take an action that they know is right but which might be perceived as weak by the others.

Richard Grant, Tea' Leoni, and Will Pouter managed to make privilege one of the most unappealing characteristics shown on screen this year. Pouter's character's amazing superpower is the ability to rationalize any stupid decision that he wants to make. It's fun listening to him talk and try to convince both the willing and the unwilling to accept his delusions. Leoni plays his mother, not as a nurturing parent but as an enabler willing to put up with his whining. Grant, as the dying patriarch, manages to create a transformation of selfishness so quickly that we are perfectly willing to let his character die, even though the Fates seem to be in his favor at times.

I can't make it a secret that there are unicorns in the movie, there are. The creatures depicted here are a nightmares version of the traditional mythology of the Unicorn. That is at least to some degree, because it is the failure of the humans that produces eventual mythological creature. The movie has very funny moments but it never reduces itself to a slapstick or parody of more serious movies. If we can accept the fantasy premise in Jurassic Park, we should be able to accept the fantasy in this film, and treat the threat with the same degree of seriousness that we did the Rogue dinosaurs.

The story does take a few shortcuts, and there is one huge inferential leap that is required in order for us to understand the nature the unicorns. Once we passed that point however, I think the film plays it straight with the story that it is set up. There are a couple of ex machina moments near the end of the movie that might undermine the credibility of its premises, but let's face it, we are talking about a movie about unicorns, let's not get carried away with story verisimilitude.

X (2022) Re-Visit

 

It is no secret that the Ti West film "X" was my favorite movie of 2022. Along with the immediate prequel "Pearl", director west has created an indelible set of characters, tied together by sexuality and a desire for fame. In two weeks we will be getting the next chapter in this franchise, "Maxxxine", and it is my most anticipated film of the year. I am always happy to see a movie that I love on the big screen, but this week's screening was special because at the conclusion of the film, we get the five minute opening of "Maxxxine" as a dessert. The amazing Mia Goth, should have been nominated for an Academy Award for the tremendous work she did in "Pearl", and it looks like there will be more of that caliber work in the new film. The tone of the clip we saw was perfect, and the exit line that leads to the titles, tells us that this character is a force to be reconned with. I can hardly wait.

As for "X", this movie continues to impress me with it's verisimilitude of the late 1970s film scene. The rag tag band of pornographers runs into a older couple that has a dark history and a misanthropic perspective of the world. The movie provides a variety of horror thrills, from slashers, to animal attacks and body horror. That it does so with a great sense of style and humor is what makes the film so memorable. The aforementioned Mia Goth has a dual role in the film, and she hits the right marks of both a scream queen and a horror villain. 

The obvious horror influences are "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Psycho". The setting at an isolated farm in Texas with a weird family of residents is supplemented by the group arriving in a van, and going through some of the same stages of travel as were found in that 1974 classic. The "Psycho" connections are slightly more subtle but also more plentiful. There is an infirm old lady, watching from an upstairs window. Voyeurism is at the heart of the story as we peek at the sex being filmed for a low budget porno, the main antagonist does some peeking as well. "Psycho" gets name checked by the film student/director of the movie within the movie, and he has a shower scene that anticipates the Janet Leigh treatment he receives just a few moments later. The stud film star, who is acting sympathetically to the old man in the story, gets the Martin Balsam treatment. 

In an early scene in the movie, we are treated to a Peeping Tom's overhead view of Maxxine taking a nude swim. Included in the overhead shot is an encroaching crocodile, which is disappointed at the last minute, but Director Ti West knows that Chekov's crocodile must play a part in the mayhem, and he does not disappoint. Brittany Snow plays the cocksure actress who can both make it and fake it. Martin Henderson as the ambitious film producer manages to be slimy but also somewhat charming and polite. Jenna Ortega was in her third horror film of the first half of the year when she gets tempted to the dark side of sexual fame. Her hysterics in the final act are one of the things that make the climax feel so much like "Texas Chainsaw Massacre". 

Although there is gore a plenty in the film, the sense of terror does not rely on those bloody images. Two example perfectly explain what I am talking about. Wayne, the producer has a encounter with a rusty nail that invokes more horror than his final confrontation with a pitchfork. Ti West knows how to milk that suspense, and when the sudden puncture away from the foot happens, it is almost a relief and comic by comparison. The second scene that shows off the horror bona fides of the director comes when Mia Goth encounters Mia Goth in her bed. It is as disturbing as is possible while also having some sympathy for the horrible Pearl. 

I hate that I have to wait an extra day to see "Maxxine", we have some other commitments. I guess being an adult carries the weight of responsibility with it. Although I have to say, loving these movies may undermine all that I do in the rest of my life to prove I am a grown up. 

 

Scream VI (2023)

 

So far, I have not been disappointed with any of the "Scream" films. They are a great amalgam of horror, film tropes, meta analysis and comedy. The fact that these have managed to sustain themselves for twenty-five plus years is impressive. Watching each new version is also an opportunity to peek into the development process of the franchise because they put their thinking right in the script and invite everyone to appreciate and laugh at it. The movies have managed to stay this side of parody but to also enjoy some of the clear cutting that parody allows. 

The previous iteration of the films was a "requel" , a term I'd not heard before but is a perfect sniglet for the type of film we are seeing. These are not reboots where the series is starting over, and the two most recent films are not direct sequels to the original four films. What we are getting is an integration of new characters with the old (legacy) characters, and a new scenario that ties back to the previous story lines but usually in a circuitous manner. In this case, we need a link to the original series of murders and the deaths in the previous film. When the resolution comes, the tie in is just adequate enough to satisfy the desire for this universe of killings to all be interrelated. 

One way that the film subverts itself is in the opening. There is the traditional phone exchange and then a gruesome murder, but the the identity of the killer appears to be revealed. Will we be looking at this story with a completely different perspective for the remaining time? I won't spoil things for you but I will say that the traditions of the tropes are respected, even as they are being mocked. I found that sequence very clever and enjoyable. The new cast, which may be referred to as the "core four", then gets the front and center attention we are expecting. Jasmin Savoy Brown as Mindy, again gets to pontificate on the traditional tropes of a horror film, but then expand on the convoluted explanations that her character provided before. Everyone questions their role on the story, and people who are in on the joke (that's you and me) get to laugh at the obviousness of some of the points and the cleverness with which we then get thrown off of the trail, and finally the realization that the film has stuck to it's stated "rules" after all. 

Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega are back as the main characters of the Carpenter sisters. Big Sister Sam is trying to cope with and manage her heritage still and the trauma she has undergone. Younger sister Tara is trying to sublimate the trauma, and that forms the early conflict in the story. Once the more active pursuit of Ghostface starts however, those sibling issues get shunted aside for the horror tropes we are looking for. Courtney Cox returns as Gale Weathers, and there is a little contentiousness because of events that supposedly happened between the two films, but that goes away pretty quickly as well. 

I'm not ashamed to say that in most of the previous films, my first time through, I was fooled by the tricks and taken in by assumptions which lead to my surprise at the reveal. This was the first of the films where I saw what was going to happen, at least in part, before the final reel. In trying to play fair, the screenwriters gave one character a piece of dialogue which is a tell. If you are looking for it, you will probably see it as well. Everything won't be explained, but you can connect the dots rapidly as the conclusion plays out. I don't consider this a flaw in the film, just a moment of clarity that comes from having seen this form of story subterfuge play out before. 

David Arquette is missed but only because his character was well beloved. Mason Gooding as the fourth corner of the "core four", clearly looks like he will be taking over many of the tropes that Deputy Dewey had in the previous films. There is a callback moment near the end which make me laugh really hard. Some characters just are too resilient. If you stick it out through the credits, there is one more joke and good laugh to be had, but be warned, it will be at your expense.