Review: 'The Killing Of A Sacred Deer'

Ever since The Lobster, director Yorgos Lanthimos has been seen as the best thing to happen to independent cinema. He is probably the most original director working today, and there is a crowd for his work that is slowly growing.

He has had other critically successful films in the past such as Dogtooth, but it was The Lobster that saw him break through into a much wider audience.

Now with the foundations laid, a lot of people have been eagerly waiting for his next project. This one sees Colin Farrell return as the lead after his fantastic work in The Lobster.

I must mention that when you go into a Lathimos film now, you expect strange and absurd storylines, but also meaning to them. He makes films that are designed to challenge you, and this definitely fits the bill.

This is being billed as a psychological horror, I saw more of a slow-burning thriller from this. It is definitely psychological and it made me really tense and feeling that I should have a shower straight after seeing this.

It's more about its absurd nature then anything else. You could almost see it as a fairy tale. While the content I was seeing on screen might not have made much logical sense, it still remained strangely captivating.

I had a feeling throughout that something was always not quite right, and this absurd story gets dark, had moments of comedy that managed to work, and it will probably be the most unique film of this year.

I had a big change of heart during the film when it came to the performances. The delivery of the dialogue by everyone is done in a purposeful deadpan fashion. It was hard for me to get into it. But thankfully, a lot of the performances managed to convert me enough to get on board with it.

Colin Farrell, I think, has upped his game in this one from The Lobster. He was simply terrific in this one. While he is seen as a Hollywood A-lister, I still don't think he gets the credit he deserves. Just check out his performance in Saving Mr. Banks and tell me he doesn't deserve at least an Oscar nomination.

I think I've said in the past that I rarely go nuts for Nicole Kidman. But I thought she did a good job in this one. I must mention she shows her body off a lot in this one, and she's still got quite a impressive physique for someone who recently turned 50.

While I wasn't drawn too much to his deadpan style of delivery, I still think Barry Keoghan was great and committed to the cause. He has an impressive year with his work in this and Dunkirk now in his CV. I will be excited to see what he does next.

It was great to finally see Raffey Cassidy back in a big project. I remember her being great in Tomorrowland: A World Beyond a few years ago and I'm so happy that Lanthimos put her talent to good use.

Despite playing a pivotal role in one scene, I had no idea until afterwards that Alicia Silverstone was in this. She certainly has changed a lot since her Clueless and Batman & Robin days.

As briefly mentioned before, I had a few problems with the film. I wasn't totally into a lot of the deadpan tone, both from a verbal and a physical standpoint. For the most part, it felt alienating to me and I struggled to feel strongly invested with what was going on.

There were also moments where the score romped along at moments that felt unnecessary to do so. I'm not sure if the point was to unsettle you. If it did, then it didn't quite work for me. It did at times when I did feel the tension. But sadly no on the whole.

My favourite part however was the cinematography. I was enjoying the long tracking shots they were doing at certain moments. The movement reminded me of The Shining. But what made it different, was the change of elevation to where the camera was which was exciting to watch.

So in conclusion, while it might not be as strong in its content as The Lobster, there's plenty of interesting and well-executed aspects. I liked the performances, the way it was the shot, its general look, and even though it is an odd story in its tone, it managed to keep me interested to gripped as to how it was going to end up.

I must mention that this is definitely not for general or mainstream audiences. If you still feel intrigued to check this out, then maybe check out and watch The Lobster first as I feel that is more approachable of the two. If you enjoyed it, then I would recommend giving this a go.

Rating: 7/10