The Killing of a Sacred Deer

My immediate response as soon as this finished was "MASTERPIECE." Lanthimos is back to Dogtooth-level craziness with this film and I couldn't be happier. The Lobster was a favourite of mine in 2016, but something about this one's hopelessness drew me in more - odd, I know. Lanthimos' films have characters stuck in dead end situations where they are able to make a choice, but the results of the options are bad and worse. It's a dour story and the film is relentlessly unsettling, but this is what I've come to expect and want out of this Greek maestro.

Sacred Deer is a suburban Greek tragedy that draws inspiration from Euripides Iphigenia in Aulis - a character even mentions this title in a key scene - and it plays out both as you'd i...

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'...

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 wat...

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 ...

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

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.