Will Poulter says gruesome Death of a Unicorn scene is “up there” in his history of on-screen deaths

Death of a Unicorn is the latest addition to the “eat the rich” genre boom, and with some pretty gnarly deaths on screen, Will Poulter breaks down where he stands on the new movie in an interview with Dexerto. (Warning: spoilers ahead!)

Not only are unicorns real in the new A24 horror movie, but they’re not the glittering, kind creatures we’re used to seeing. They’re violent, vicious beasts with a love of revenge, causing a night of madness for those trapped inside a luxury mansion.

Poulter stars as Shepard Leopold, the son of a wealthy pharmaceutical family who decide to harvest the body of a dead unicorn for a new fortune.

Naturally, chaos and death ensues, and Poulter doesn’t have a grudge when it comes to his own demise.

Will Poulter loved shooting his Death of a Unicorn scene

Shepard almost makes it out alive in the horror-comedy, but meets a sticky end when he gets kicked by one of the monstrous creatures, sending him flying and turning his brains into mush.

It’s a traumatic scene, and one which Poulter ranks highly among his many previous on-screen kills.

“There’s some pretty spectacular deaths in this thing. And that one is definitely up there for me, personally, in my own catalog of deaths,” he told Dexerto.

A24

“It’s a pretty gruesome and fun one. And it’s lots of things in the script. It was incredibly creative and funny and gruesome all at once.

“This is kind of like a ice-cream-sandwich-with-sprinkles of a movie. It’s a mash up of all these wonderful things that happened to work. I had a blast doing it, including shooting the death.”

If Death of a Unicorn opens the door for other new horror movies centered around mythical creatures, Poulter already has an idea of what he would want to be killed by next: the Loch Ness Monster.

“I’ve always been really intrigued by the Loch Ness Monster,” he explained. “I used to go to Edinburgh Festival when I was like 11, I was at that age where you absolutely shouldn’t still believe in the lot less monster. But I was constantly looking in every lake or body of water, just in case I saw something.

“I think that would make for quite a cinematic death as well, a battle with the Loch Ness Monster, like maybe in a canoe or something.”

Death of a Unicorn is playing in theaters now.

For more, check out all the other new movies out this month. And for some classics, take a look at our list of all the best movies ever made.