The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)

Steven, a charismatic surgeon, is forced to make an unthinkable sacrifice after his life starts to fall apart, when the behaviour of a teenage boy he has taken under his wing turns sinister.

Jess' Review

A well-known fact about me, I love horror movies. It’s my favourite genre. From the classic 80s slashers to ‘torture-porn’ and more psychological numbers, I have respect and admiration for them all. Well, maybe there are a few exceptions, but you get the idea. I’m a big fan. I’m also a fan of Yorgos Lanthimos, famed for Oscar-winning, The Lobster (2015). So his deep-dive into horror intrigued me. I was excited to get started.

Sam HATED the first 40 minutes of this film. And whilst I had no qualms, I completely understand why. The Killing of a Sacred Deer is not a film for everyone.

Steven (Colin Farrell), a heart surgeon and father of two, takes troubled teen Martin (Barry Keoghan) under his wing only to later lay witness to the slow destruction of his world.

It’s artistic, slow-moving and dabbles in a slimy sub-genre of surrealism designed to make the viewer wholly uncomfortable. From the visceral opening shot of surgery to the ever-intensifying, soundtrack of strings, Lanthimos puts our back up immediately. Music is so important in horror, and here it dominates the scene. I physically moved to lower the volume at times! It’s deliberately intense, and whilst this was a borderline overkill at times, it certainly ups the tension.

The actors all put in wonderfully poised performances, working with unusual dialogue and a primarily monotonous delivery. It’s jarring. Even when you think you might get used to their exposition-style speech, you don’t. And I could see Sam losing his mind over it. There’s a lack of emotion, which to me seems entirely deliberate in an act to further disarm the viewer. That being said, it was a little tedious.

The shots in this film are also particularly noteworthy. They are expansive, sprawling worlds that plunge the characters into insignificance. They look tiny, completely dwarfed by these looming, sterile environments. And again, it’s intentional. I see this tying into so many overarching themes of a film so littered with symbolism.

I love a film with deeper meaning, and maybe that makes me a little pretentious. And when I eventually discovered that The Killing was a modern retelling of a Greek tragedy, I found a whole new appreciation for it. Lanthimos plays with some fantastic imagery, delving into themes of karma, vengeance and all-powerful forces. And it elevates The Killing to another level for me.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer is powerful, intense and a remarkably slow burn. It hits hard, yet with control, and achieves its aim of thoroughly unsettling its audience.

7.5/10

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Sam's Review

The dialogue is strikingly inauthentic and clunky. It’s as if the writers were attempting to be interesting and provocative. Instead, it’s just laborious. Often said in a monotone, the characters sound bored with their own words, especially in the beginning. I found it so infuriating that I paused the film to escape it, thinking Jess would agree, and was appalled at her indifference. She seemed to find the dialogue deliberately bad, for effect, and as such, forgivable. Wrong. It was unnatural, not how a person would speak. It was as though an alien wrote the script, trying to imitate humanity. I understand the concept. Using dialogue as a tool to add suspense and put the audience on the back-foot. But, doing it in such a way had me unable to suspend my disbelief. The dialogue could have been realistic and awkward/uncomfortable, thus allowing me to slip into the reality of the world the filmmakers were creating.

In contrast to the writing, the acting is superb. Barry Keoghan's Martin was so creepy that I was hoping for his downfall. In fact, I need some space before I see Keoghan in another project, less my disdain for Martin slip out into his other work. My point is, he was pretty good.

The first forty minutes seem to exist only to test the patience of the audience. I guess it's used to set the scene, but lethargically. And the story is non existent. It’s just an awkward collection of scenes that leaves the viewer perturbed. Then the wheels start to pick up speed and I find myself a little more interested. Still, a lot didn’t make sense within the story. For example, when Martin sets out rules, all I can think is, how does he know the rules? To go into detail would to give too much away, but if I had cared more about the film, it would have annoyed me. I believe that the director forgoes these plot holes in order to focus on symbolism and message. Films like these make me realise that my writing may lack depth. Themes are deeply woven into the film, but perhaps I am not intelligent enough to fully grasp them. It’s not that they fully escape me, it’s more like a language I can't read. I also wonder why the story has to suffer for the sake of themes. Can we not have both?

It's an art film, and for the vast majority of it is shot superbly, though once in a while it looks like a film student trying to be edgy. It might be a great film. Lots of themes, symbolism, with a subversive dialogue. Alas, it wasn't for me.

5/10