EFF: The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)

The Story

“No matter your final decision on the heart-stopping, nerve-shredding, gut-clenching The Killing of a Sacred Deer, one thing is for sure - you won't forget it in a hurry.” — Film Inquiry

Dr. Steven Murphy (Colin Farrell) is a renowned cardiovascular surgeon presiding over a spotless household with his ophthalmologist wife Anna (Nicole Kidman) and their two exemplary children, 12-year-old Bob (Sunny Suljic) and 14-year-old Kim (Raffey Cassidy). Lurking at the margins of his idyllic suburban existence is Martin (Barry Keoghan), a fatherless teen whom Steven has covertly taken under his wing. As Martin begins insinuating himself into the family’s life in ever-more unsettling displays, the full scope of his intent becomes menacingly clear when he confronts Steven with a long-forgotten transgression that will shatter the Murphy family’s domestic bliss.

Lanthimos has crafted a sensational thriller brimming with unsettling humour and creeping dread, steeped in Greek tragedy, Hitchcockian psychodrama, and riveting suspense. Darting confidently between genres to subvert our expectations at every turn, The Killing of a Sacred Deer firmly cements Lanthimos in the pantheon of world-class auteurs and marks him as a cinematic provocateur without precedent.

Winner of Best Screenplay at Cannes Film Festival 2017

Rating

MA15+

Duration

121 min

Director

Yorgos Lanthimos