The Killing of a Sacred Deer: A Terrifying Story About Sacrifice.

Seeing this movie was like going on a roller coaster with no safety bars. Yorgos Lanthimos most certainly has done one of his best movies yet and one of the most terrifying yet. I came out of the theater feeling shaken, like I have experienced what the characters did. This movie will upset many and I can say that its the feel bad movie of the year.

The movie follows Steven (Collin Farrell) a successful surgeon who lives with his wife Anna (Nicole Kidman) and his two kids Kim (Raffey Cassidy) and Bob (Sunny Suljic). Steven takes Martin (Barry Keoghan), one of his dead patience's son, under his wing. Everything seems fine until one day Bob, the youngest son, mysteriously falls ill. Martin discloses to Steven that he has put a curse on his family and that his children and wife will slowly die unless he will kill a member from his family, as revenge for his father's death, which was Steven's fault.

This movie was a pure psychological thriller, one that doesn't let go until the final haunting minute. The movie is based on an ancient Greek play "Iphigenia at Aulis" by Euripides. Though only loosely based on the play, Lanthimos presents new and fresh ideas to the table and shows how art-house cinema meets horror. Though the movie has its flaws, like the run time and a few scenes of just tracking shots, its one of the most original films released in 2017. The movie presents the audience with themes such as family relations, sacrifice, reputation, etc. The film manages to capture a very haunting tone and scenes of emotional pain and brutality.

Colin Farrell gave the best performance of his career alongside Nicole Kidman who was nothing short of amazing. Both actors deserve at least an SAG nomination for their roles. The younger actors all surprised me with how much talent they showed onscreen. But the person who stood out for me was Barry Kheoghan ,who played Martin. He will for sure have a long and spectacular career after this film.

All in all, The Killing of a Sacred Deer is a terrifying roller coaster ride that will manage to upset people on the first viewing and will be regarded as Yorgos Lanthimos's best film.

Score: 7.5/10

75/100

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