‘WTF??????????????????’: Yep, reactions to Jenna Ortega’s ‘Death of a Unicorn’ are already coming in hot

When you’re a talent like Jenna Ortega, you’re going to have a fantastic career. You can take on an iconic goth character and star in an opening Scream sequence where you brag about your elevated horror expertise, no problem. But can you really pull off starring in a movie called Death of a Unicorn?

People are more than a little confused about this A24 film, which is about Ripley (Ortega) and her dad Elliot (the forever young Paul Rudd) hitting the mystical creature with their car on their way to a professional retreat for Elliot.

Naturally, people have strong responses to the Death of a Unicorn trailer, which dropped earlier today. As one X user put it, “WTF??????????????????” I couldn’t have said it better myself!

Other reactions ranged from “This is either going to be amazing or terrible” to “Why do i want to see this so bad.” Another X user wrote, “I can’t believe this actually looks peak.”

People can’t decide if they’re going to race to the theater to see Death of a Unicorn or if they want absolutely nothing to do with this movie. And, honestly, I’m in that perplexed camp, too. One person online said A24 movies seem promising from trailers but end up being unsatisfying, and another wondered why “the same actors” end up in every movie. Bonkers premise aside, I could defend Ortega and Rudd forever, so I don’t want to hear that! Finally, another user said, “Not sure how I feel about this one,” so maybe that’s the only possible position to take until the movie comes out.

Then there are those who praised the movie for its premise: “Finally some originality,” one said, and I will agree that at least this film is doing something different. I have literally no clue what genre Death of a Unicorn is supposed to be, but from the trailer, it seems to follow a traditional thriller movie structure. In it, Ripley and Elliot act like everything is fine when they get to the retreat, but when other characters ask them what’s going on and figure out they’re hiding the unicorn in their car, all hell breaks loose. In the most wild twist of all, it turns out you were right as a kid and unicorns really are magical, because the dust from this one’s horn appears to be a cure for cancer. I’m going to need a long explanation for that.

A24 doesn’t only make unhinged content — the company has put out some impressive films, including the deeply emotional Eighth Grade and Lady Bird; however, its popular horror movies do tend to walk on the wild side, from Hereditary and Midsommar to Tusk. I’m wondering if Death of a Unicorn is more or less bewildering than the premise of the 2014 A24 release Spring Breakers, which is like a fever dream or a music video (or both). Since Ari Aster is producing this Ortega/Rudd project, that might make people feel a little bit more confident that there’s something legit happening here.

There isn’t an official release date for Death of a Unicorn yet, which means more time for everyone to sit back and figure out what to think about it. Or maybe that’s not possible and everyone should just agree to check it out. At the very least, you get to watch Ortega and Rudd in a movie together, and that’s not the worst thing in the world.