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The Killing of a Sacred Deer

Name: The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Released: 2017-10-20T00:00:00.000000Z
Rating: 7.0

2017 • 121 min • ★ 7.0 (4,565) • Released

Drama Mystery Thriller

Dr. Steven Murphy is a renowned cardiovascular surgeon who presides over a spotless household with his wife and two children. Lurking at the margins of his idyllic suburban existence is Martin, a fatherless teen who insinuates himself into the doctor's life in gradually unsettling ways.

Homepage ↗ IMDb ↗

Original title: The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Language: EN
Country: IE,US,GB
Budget: $3,000,000
Revenue: $10,700,000

Reviews & Ratings 6

Landrin201

Nov 2, 2025 · via TMDB

★ 3.0

This movie was incredibly strange and didn't work at all for either myself or my group of friends, with whom I watched it. We felt that there was a serious direction problem in this. ALL of the performances felt flat and boring, and were all a fairly flat monotone that meant none of them stood out as particularly good. There were several moments that were genuinely hilarious, but I'm not sure they were intended to be. The writing was also off, which didn't help the direction problems; because the performances were so robotic, the strange lines themselves became even more weird sounding. The score was maybe the worst part of the movie; at several times it completely broke the little tension that the film had managed to create. It was almost comedic sometimes, and at others it was way too heavy handed and trying to force me to see a scene a specific way. We didn't really enjoy it.

sophionara

Jan 24, 2024 · via TMDB

★ 9.0

This film managed to keep me fully engaged. I watched it at 1.0 speed, which has been challenging for me lately. The plot was so thrilling, but after it ended, I had this feeling of uncertainty. Perhaps I did not realize something, or maybe there was a hidden reason behind everything that was happening. I was left with unanswered questions. However, as I read other reviews, I started to realize that this was my first time watching a film by Yorgos Lanthimos, and I did not fully catch up to his style. By the way, I discovered this film through Barry Keoghan, and he did not disappoint. My next stop is "The Lobster" as you all love it so much.

Nathan

Oct 14, 2022 · via TMDB

★ 6.0

I found this to be one of the better Yorgos Lanthimos films, but I just cannot get behind his writing style. The stories he delivers are incredibly unique and I want to like them so much more than I actually do. Despite those drawbacks, _The Killing of a Sacred Deer_ was a mind-bending movie that threw me for a loop. The performances were great all around, as they should be with a star-studded cast featuring Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, and Barry Keoghan. The plot was incredibly twisted and dark. I enjoyed this film, but much like Lobster, and really wish there was a more modern spin on the writing instead of the short choppy and somewhat awkward framing that Lanthimos is known for. **Score:** _65%_ | **Verdict:** _Decent_

5rJoud

Jul 2, 2021 · via TMDB

★ 3.0

**What a shame this could have been excellent** This film depicts the life of upper class people as we like to imagine it, and brilliantly so. The medical doctors couple have it all figured out, speak in complete sentences and are firm and polite. The house is gorgeous, the children are smart and well behaved. The setting of the story as a whole is very well done, believable and with great actors to boot. The score is not so great. At times we have experimental "music" that just annoys and does nothing for the mood, but the visuals are exciting to watch, we have interesting camera angles, no shaking and clever zooms and motion. The pace is slow, yet "The Killing of a Sacred Deer" is never boring. There is always a plot twist which is explored after, things take their time but rightfully so. Why the relatively detailed review for a 1.5 star rating? The problem is that the climax is just a huge letdown. The audience can't help themselves but wonder what is going on, guessing on the crime the apparently genius 16 year old villain commits. It is never explained. The makers thought it would be enough to have the bad guy win. It is not enough. In the end everything good about the movie was negated by breaking the suspension of disbelief in a petty way, just ending the movie. Even "The Leftovers" explained its phenomenon, and that show did not need to. There the mystery was the premise for character development, here the mystery is a tool to keep the viewer's attention. I'd like to give less than 1.5 stars, because of how cheated I feel and because of the waste of talent and production value. But I'm sure there are people who love this and people who will learn from this. 18 December 2017 I am migrating my reviews from a different site which has become simply garbage. TMDB looks awesome and I look forward to be a part of it.

tmdb23156637

Dec 23, 2017 · via TMDB

★ 7.0

Finally got the chance to see this via Amazon. Dogtooth and The Lobster (from the same Greek director, who I must admit has a keen sense of storytelling) did not impress me at all. Very interesting ideas; atrocious presentations. Dogtooth was indecipherable and The Lobster is cruel, ugly, and not humorous in any fashion (I've no idea why it's billed as a black comedy.) However, this latest film is entertaining to me despite it's grim and inky-black nature (based on the ancient Greek play, which is where the title is loosely derived from.) Perhaps it's a bit more straight-forward despite its cryptic nature, a bit more involved in some form of reality we can recognize and less inference as to what the hey is really happening. But I sure watched it w/ more interest than The Lobster (I've no interest in the director's film prior to that one.) A successful heart surgeon (w/ a past history of alcoholism, sober for some time at present) is shown to have an uneasy alliance w/ the teenaged son of a patient who died on the operating table. It's clear the boy has some hold over this surgeon, who seems eager to please him but his heart's not into it (no pun intended.) The boy's true intentions are revealed as events move forward; the surgeon's wife and two children (a few years apart, both intelligent in their own ways) are placed in grave danger as well as dear old Dad, and to reveal just how would spoil it for first-time viewers. The camera-work here is impeccable, as are the jarring soundscapes, found-sounds, and industrial noise which makes for harrowing listening. The actor playing Martin, the teenaged oddball w/ a shared secret, is riveting to watch in a well-suited role. Sacred Deer isn't so much a horror-film as a drama w/ strong elements of dream-like reality, awkward young romance, and assorted chills and cold calculated sex-scenes involving "playing dead" and "the other." My biggest complaints would be as before w/ this director's work: everyone speaks their lines as if hearing them through an ear-piece to parrot back, which makes the cast seem rather stilted and robotic. This director favors a weird tangent of "Mamet-speak." The ending is about what you'd expect, following the matter-of-fact discussions which precede it. Up until that point Sacred Deer does a pretty good job keeping us wondering what will happen next, where will things lead, what is that kid's gift and whereupon was it bestowed; unfortunately the outcome isn't as entrancing or unexpected as I'd hoped. But overall worth my time to watch. Considering how disappointed I was by the previous films by the director I'd watched (great reviews, all of which confounded and puzzled me) this film was much less of a bore and a chore to watch. A pleasant, unpleasant surprise indeed.

Gimly

Dec 10, 2017 · via TMDB

★ 5.0

I am a big fan of some of Yorgos Lanthimos' earlier work, so _The Killing of a Sacred Deer_, which I had been told in no uncertain terms would be a straight up horror movie, was well and truly on the agenda for 2017. Unfortunately, I found that not only was _Sacred Deer_ not at all a horror, but more importantly that it lacked the dark whimsy of something truly odd, like the director's previous film, _Lobster_. Instead it opts for an outright uncomfortable tone. The world is real, boringly so, and it is only the characters who seem unbelievable. Which is a 180 on the sort of absurdism I usually gravitate towards. That said, _Sacred Deer_ still contains some beautiful cinematography, and a couple of the most genuine laugh-out-loud moments I've seen in a movie all year. _Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole._

User reviews courtesy of TMDB.

Keywords 18

baffled blackmail brutality cafe cardiologist cruelty dysfunctional family hospital hostage husband wife relationship insanity open heart surgery paralysis paranormal psychopath recovering alcoholic revenge surgeon

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Cast 16

Colin Farrell

Steven Murphy

Nicole Kidman

Anna Murphy

Barry Keoghan

Martin Lang

Raffey Cassidy

Kim Murphy

Sunny Suljic

Bob Murphy

Bill Camp

Matthew Williams

Alicia Silverstone

Martin's Mother

Denise Dal Vera

Mary Williams

Anita Farmer Bergman

Nurse (uncredited)

Lea Hutton Beasmore

Conference Guest (uncredited)

Charles Poole

Patient / Fisherman (uncredited)

Bryant Bentley

Paramedic (uncredited)

Joanne Popolin

Medical Conference Attendee (uncredited)

Carly Tamborski

Doctor at Conference (uncredited)

William C. Ingram

Janitor (uncredited)

John E. Brownlee

Coastal Walker (uncredited)

Crew 28

Vasilis Marmatakis

Graphic Designer

Jade Healy

Production Design

Adam Willis

Set Decoration

Vasilis Marmatakis

Title Designer

Thimios Bakatakis

Director of Photography

Nancy Steiner

Costume Design

Ariane Labed

Thanks

Isabelle Miller

Translator

Yorgos Lanthimos

Director

Patrick Malone

Digital Intermediate

Yorgos Mavropsaridis

Editor

D. Lynn Meyers

Casting

Francine Maisler

Casting Director

Paula Heffernan

Co-Producer

Andrew Lowe

Executive Producer

Anne Sheehan

Executive Producer

Daniel Battsek

Executive Producer

Nicki Hattingh

Executive Producer

Ed Guiney

Producer

Yorgos Lanthimos

Producer

Johnnie Burn

Music Editor

Yorgos Mavropsaridis

Music Editor

Sofiya Gubaydulina

Sound

Johnnie Burn

Sound Designer

Johnnie Burn

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Johnnie Burn

Supervising Sound Editor

Efthimis Filippou

Writer

Yorgos Lanthimos

Writer

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US Release Dates 3

Sep 22, 2017

Fantastic Fest

R Premiere

Oct 20, 2017

R Theatrical (Limited)

Nov 3, 2017

R Theatrical