The Killing of a Sacred Deer

After his weird period, Lanthimos activated internal Greek fate and combined residential horror and ancient tragedy with Efthymis Filippou. A camera that hovers over the heroes like a vicious threat, unmistakably mechanical acting, demonic Barry Keoghan and a morally borderline second half that is the cruelest (and least satirical) of all Lanthimos's films. What used to come from within strange communities is now incomprehensibly imposed on the heroes from above. The unraveling and meaning of this brutal clinical version of Sophie's Choice will probably be discussed at length - the fact remains that the tone and depressing atmosphere make The Killing of a Sacred Deer a real horror. Trier with an acute attack of sociopathy. (05/27/2017)

It would be boring if all A-list filmmakers were normal. A disruption of a cold, perfectly rational world by an irrational force, a demon that cannot be defeated. Not as eccentrically intellectual as The Lobster, but with more viewer-friendly content, The Killing of a Sacred Deer is basically a genre movie for more discerning viewers. However, it is also unique in its execution. It is hypnotically slow, with brilliant shots and Bernard Herrmann-style horror music, while also being emotionally restrained and hellishly cruel. Colin Farrell is a chameleon and Nicole Kidman perfect as always, both as an actress and in her underwear. And the young Irish devil Barry Keoghan looks promising. [Cannes] (05/26/2017)

I first came across Yorgos Lanthimos's work through The Favourite, and since I was intrigued by his distinctive (and somewhat twisted) directorial style, I decided to watch one of his earlier pieces. In terms of building up an uncomfortable atmosphere and the truly unnatural direction of the actors and odd camera amgñes, The Killing of a Sacred Deer highlights the director's unique aesthetic. However, while I didn't mind this style with The Favourite, and in fact found it suited to the historically distant time period, I wasn't as hooked in the case of Deer. The film builds on a very bizarre plot, which on the one hand feels offbeat and creepy, but on the other is just too weird for my taste. Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell give convincing and strong performances, but in the case of the child actors I have to be critical, especially because of the robotic (which may have been the point) acting of Raffey Cassidy. Barry Keoghan is a chapter unto himself. I first saw him in Dunkirk and found him incredibly unlikeable, and I was seriously indifferent to his fate. I also found him unlikeable here, but in this case it added to a deeper appreciation of his character. The final ten minutes were very powerful and uncomfortable to watch, no question about it. The film is somewhere between two and three stars for me. I'll give it a thumbs up for now, but it's quite possible that I'll reconsider my opinion in time. (04/25/2020)

A wonderfully and amusingly strange film that will be appreciated especially by lovers of plenty of black humor and unusual films with crazy plots. For anyone who has already had the honor of watching Lanthimos’s films, this is simply another of his original and imaginative satirical images of human society, governed by absurd rules and funny-freezing cultural habits, and their creator does not need to explain in any way. Bizarre art. The best in Lanthimos's filmography so far (for me). (11/02/2017)

Yorgos Lanthimos shrewdly uses very modest means (with a modest budget) to create a hypnotic yet quite tense atmosphere. In fact, he makes ample use of distant and seemingly detached long camera shots and a musical motif that burrows under the skin and is a terrified jumble of a few simple sounds. The ambivalent presentation of Martin's character adds to the clearly hard-to-define (but very effective) atmosphere. At first glance, he looks and acts like a nice and innocent boy, while in reality he represents an evil similar to "that nice and innocent Damien" from The Omen. (02/07/2019)