Warning: the following contains spoilers for the ending of Death of a Unicorn.Death of a Unicorn director Alex Scharfman unpacks the fate of Paul Rudd’s character in the movie. The A24 horror comedy stars Rudd as Elliot, a father who accidentally hits a unicorn with his car on a trip with his daughter, Ridley (Jenna Ortega). After discovering the magical healing power of the creature, Elliot’s boss tries to exploit the creature, which results in a mᴀssacre. At the end of the movie, Elliot elects to stab Shep (Will Poulter) to put a stop to it all, only to be fatally stabbed in return, though the adult unicorns revive him and their foal.
In an interview with ScreenRant for Death of a Unicorn‘s release, Scharfman explains Elliot’s fate, sharing that he came up with the ending very early on, stressing that Elliot’s journey is about “selflessness.” Throughout the entire film, Elliot claims that he’s doing everything for his daughter, but in reality, he seeks “financial security as a means” to avoid pain and because he likes it. Elliot realizes his selfishness and makes a selfless decision to free the unicorns, which is something to be “recognized and rewarded,” which is why the unicorns resurrected him. Check out his explanation below:
It was always sort of structured this way in my mind. When I write, very often, I will skip the climax, and I’ll write up to the climax, and then I’ll write the end, and then I’ll be like, “How do I figure out what happens here now?” I don’t think my first draft had a climax in the movie, but my second draft, which did have a climax in it, always had it this way, basically. I think there’s something about Elliot being on a journey of moving from selfishness to selflessness. The lie that he kind of needs to overcome is that his selflessness is that his selfishness actually is selfless, and that he’s doing this for his daughter, and that he’s trying to build a better life. But, really, it’s all rooted in this anxiety that he has about having suffered a great loss in the past, and seeing financial security as a means to avoid any kind of pain in the future. But ultimately, it’s also about the recognition that, actually, maybe that financial security is just something he likes.
I think once he kind of comes to that realization, he ultimately makes a selfless decision at the end and pays the ultimate price for it. But, in so doing, he obviously frees the unicorns at the end of the movie, and that selflessness is rewarded, and that greater sense of sacrifice is recognized and rewarded for its true selflessness, honestly, he has nothing to gain. By stabbing Shep, he loses a ton financially, he could have been a billionaire for the rest of his life, and made all the fortunes and more that he came into the weekend seeking, but by rejecting it, he kind of places something more important over that, and that is largely recognizing the value structure that his daughter has been trying to impose upon him throughout the movie.
What Alex Scharfman’s Comment Means For Death Of A Unicorn’s Ending
Elliot Goes On An Emotional Journey In The Film
Elliot is emotionally shut down throughout the brutal Death of a Unicorn story up until its very end. He purely focuses on financial gain and refuses to acknowledge Ridley when she mentions their family trip together before Elliot’s wife died. Scharfman’s comment about Elliot avoiding pain explains his disconnection from Ridley and why he strikes the injured baby unicorn ᴅᴇᴀᴅ with a metal bar in the first place, despite it not being a threat to him or his daughter. Elliot even went so far as to steal the baby unicorn’s horn for financial gain, despite witnessing the deaths of those before him.
However, as pointed out by the director, the moment when he holds himself accountable for his past actions is when everything changes. Elliot is finally opening up to his daughter and the person he truly is, which, in turn, opens him up to the unicorns’ magic. In the same interview, Scharfman also explains that Death of a Unicorn‘s larger metaphor is “the touching of the horn creating this kind of ethneogenic, semi-religious cosmic experience,” which offers another angle into Elliot’s resurrection.
Our Take On Elliot’s Fate In Death Of A Unicorn
Elliot Wouldn’t Have Been Resurrected In A Different Movie
Elliot’s resurrection makes a lot of sense, as there were hints throughout the movie that Rudd’s character also shared a mysterious bond with the magical creatures, but unlike his daughter, he chooses to turn a blind eye to the experience. As explained in the lore, only a pure-hearted maiden can tame a unicorn, and Elliot’s final sacrifice proves that he is a good person who’s momentarily blinded by grief, which makes him redeemable, unlike his boss.
Elliot earned his resurrection, despite being something of a villain most of the time. On the other hand, many villains who try to redeem themselves will not receive a miracle in return. However, it seems that Scharfman’s A24 movie is more about the “semi-religious cosmic experience” than settling on a score, particularly as Death of a Unicorn‘s ending sees the family of unicorns knock over the police car holding the father and daughter to rescue them, but doing so may have killed them. Elliot isn’t exactly saved, but he is no longer afraid, which is what this journey is about.
