A Thriller with DEATH OF A UNICORN

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres this Friday from writer/director Alex Scharfman and A24 is a story with a mythical twist when there is a DEATH OF A UNICORN.

Elliot (Paul Rudd) is attempting to work his way up the ladder of a company owned by the Leopold’s. Driving up to their property in the mountains, he brings daughter Ridley (Jenna Ortega) along to spend time since his wife’s death and to show they are a close family. Driving up the winding road, Elliot takes his eyes off the road for one second before hitting something in the road.

Ridley walks up to the creature on the road and touches it causing something weird to happen. Elliot decides that it is up to him to put the creature out of its misery. Arriving at the Leopold house, he is met by Belinda Leopold (Tea Leoni) and son Shepard (Will Poulter) who bring them into the extravagant house that takes Ridley by surprise. Elliot meets with Odell Leopold (Richard E. Grant) who is very ill.

While Ridley takes a look around, Elliot is in the process of signing business papers with the Leopold’s who are happy he is working with them. That is until family assistant Shaw (Jessica Hynes) notices something moving in the back of Elliot’s car! Even butler Griff (Anthony Carrigan) sees the vehicle rocking like crazy. Everyone runs out of the house in time to see the creature Elliot hit earlier!

Odell immediately calls in Dr. Bhatia (Sunita Mani) and Dr. Song (Steve Park), two scientists who try to understand what the creature is. While all the madness is happening, Ridley is doing her research to discover what the creature is and present her findings to the Leopold’s – it is a unicorn! They aren’t as interested in her story as they are in what they discover about the creature. Now, Elliot and Ridley are faced with being the only two who realize that the Leopold’s are determined on destruction.

Actually, there are more creatures in the woods and they are, well, very angry and looking to hold someone responsible.  

Rudd as Elliot is a twitchy widower who wants to be financially secure to take care of his daughter. He believes the Leopold’s are they key to making that happen and is a bit of a shoe licker about it. When the craziness begins, he is still twitchy but slowly realizes his daughter is on to something! This role is perfect for Rudd as he takes on his usual humor and ability to be that “dad” who thinks wrong to make things right. Ortega as Ridley is a daughter who is irritated with her father for many reasons while trying to deal with the death of her mother. Once they arrive at the Leopold’s, Ridley wants to leave sensing that something isn’t right but there is a reason. Ortega gets a chance to wiggle around the crazies of the house and is the princess of the story.

Grant as Odell is a sickly man who hires Elliot to help with the family business. Once that sickness is put in check, the business side of Odell comes out and so does greed and destruction. Grant is fantastic in this role and I loved watching him do what he does best, take a role and make it his own. Leoni as Belinda does a superb job of being irritating in a hilarious way. Watching her bounce off Grant’s role of Odell is impressive and it is good to see her on the screen again.

Carrigan as Griff is one of the outstanding characters in the film and from now on, I will be yelling “Griiiiiiiffffff” anytime I want something. Carrigan has to be seen to be hilariously believed. Hynes as Shaw has only one goal, be as tough as she can be. As the Leopold’s assistant, Hynes character is protective of the family and is going to take on whatever is in the woods.

Song as Park is the scientist trying to discover what it is about the creature that can be a cure to so many things. Mani as Dr. Bhatia is the other scientist who knows that you don’t mess with the Leopold’s. Both of the scientists are just as twitchy as Elliot!

The outstanding character here is Poulter as Shepard who is a narcissistic, spoiled and entitled man-child. That being said, oh my goodness did he have me laughing myself silly. His antics and line deliveries were sheer perfection. I can’t even explain adequately Poulter’s performance because it truly does need to be experienced but be prepared to jaw drop and giggle like crazy.

Other cast include Denise Delgado as Ridley’s Mom and Kathryn Erbe as the Tapestry Narrator.

A24 is an independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production based in New York City. Films such as A GLIMPSE INSIDE THE MIND OF CHARLES SWAN III, the amazing EX MACHINA, ROOM and THE WITCH. Many of their films can be found on DirecTV Cinema and Amazon Prime. For more information, please visit www.a24films.com.

DEATH OF A UNICORN is a thriller, comedy and horror film all rolled into one. Normally I’d be a little leery of that combination but writer/director Scharfman must have found some unicorn dust of his own. Putting this cast together was another stroke of genius because they played off one another and made it look so darn easy. I had so many reactions to the film and every single one of them was fun. The CGI gives us total unicorn and, as a childhood unicorn lover, I was thrilled with what they came up with.

Having beloved mythical creatures as the “bad guys” had me at go from the beginning and the way they are brought to the story had me cheering. Does it seem I’m being vague? Absolutely so! There is no way I want to spoil this film for anyone who is headed to the theatre this weekend. It is a weird, strange, twisted story and the biggest thing it has going for it is originality and that’s saying a lot with the films of late.

Get that tub of popcorn and take a mythical, magical ride of terror.

In the end – they’re going to make a killing!

BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres this Friday is the long awaited and much anticipated film from director Tim Burton and Warner Bros. Pictures is the return of BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE.

Divorced Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) is now making her living by hosting a talk show about the supernatural called Ghost House. Boyfriend Rory (Justin Theroux) is helping Lydia by being the producer of the show. During the latest taping, Lydia thinks she sees someone frighteningly familiar! Right after, she receives word from Delia (Catherine O’Hara) that dad Charles has passed. Driving back to Winter River, Lydia and Delia pick up daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) from school.

Not happy about Rory’s timing to propose to her mom, an already moody Astrid runs off only to meet young Jeremy (Arthur Conti) in a treehouse! Wanting to come back to life, he tells Lydia he can help see her dad who disappeared in the Amazon. When things go horribly wrong, Lydia has no choice but to say those three words bringing back the one person who has conditions to everything before agreeing to help. Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) says yes to help find Astrid but wants a few things from Lydia, all while avoiding ex-wife Delores (Monica Bellucci).

The twists and turns are insane as Lydia deals Jeremy, Delia deals with Rory, Astrid deals with everybody and Beetlejuice, well, he is going to do things his own way!

Keaton as Beetlejuice jumps into his role but seems a bit more sensitive this time. He doesn’t seem as vindictive but still has his motives for everything he does. The introduction of his ex-wife gives Beetlejuice a bit more vulnerability. That being said, Keaton is and will always be Beetlejuice who everybody loves so much. There is nothing about him playing this character that just isn’t amazing.

Ryder as Lydia shows a more grown up and now a mother herself. In the first film she was not afraid of anything and made it clear she was ‘strange and unusual’. The adult Lydia is a bit more passive but picks up the character of Lydia with ease. Ortega as Astrid fit the role perfectly but it seems that it’s her thing to play the strong-willed outcast who is angry at everything. It’s easy to see her playing this role as she already stunned in the role of Wenesday Adams. Both characters are dark so it makes sense.

O’Hara as Delia is still wacky in her own unique way. She is still and artist doing her own abstract pieces but takes the role of grandparent very seriously. Theroux as Rory is so weird and it is interesting to see him in this role. Think of the hippie in WONDERLUST and add darkness and you have Rory. Conti as Jeremy feels like the most interesting introduction to the film. He does an excellent job in taking us on the ride of his story in the film.

Other cast include Burn Gorman as Father Damien, Danny DeVito as Janitor, Filipe Cates as Vlad, Santiago Cabrera as Richard and Willem Dafoe as Wolf Jackson.

BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE is a film that fans have been waiting for since 1988. I won’t do the math because it will age me (as if I need any help with that). I remember taking my kids to see the film when the original came out and then we saw it again, and again, then bought the VHS (no laughing) then DVD’s and Bluray wearing all of them out watching the film. So, when I say the new film couldn’t have come at a better time, I mean it! Trust me also that I have not even talked about 3/4ths of what goes on in this film because I do not want to spoil it for anyone. Just know the excitement is real!

It is such a fun story staying true to its creepy, funny, family film roots. I can honestly say we are going to go back to the theatre to see it again. Part of the fun was the anticipation of seeing the film and dressing up accordingly. It is almost a moral imperative that one dresses up to see it. BEETLEJUICE has become so iconic and recognizable that you can be sure a lot of someone’s dress up like the character for Halloween.

Burton made sure that the film felt nostalgic with creatures from the original and meshing with a few cameos. On how he saw the new film, Burton says, “I tried to treat this movie like the spirit of the first movie where we had a script, but there was a lot of improve that went on. I waited so long because nothing ever clicked and I know it couldn’t have happened until now. For me, this became a very personal movie, like a kind of weird family movie about a weird family and it could only have happened for me after all this time”.

Oh, I’m sure I could nitpick about things here and there with the film but I won’t. Why? Because BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE is why a lot of us go to the movies. This is total entertainment that doesn’t ask anything else other than to be entertained, laugh, remember and embrace a character that is totally outrageous (and has seeped his way into our hearts permanently). Burton, Keaton, O’Hara and Ryder did that all those years ago and once again they remind us that it is okay to be ‘strange and unusual’ because there are more of us than the world cares to admit.

So put on your best Beetlejuice duds and gather up the gang to go have an absolutely blast at the theatre this weekend and remember – you have to say it three times with feeling!

In the end – he is the ghost with the most babe!