THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER
Dangerous game
Bleak, freaky horror in the latest from The Lobster’s director.
released 3 November 15 | 109 minutes Director Yorgos lanthimos Cast Colin Farrell, barry Keoghan, raffey Cassidy
The first thing we see in Yorgos Lanthimos’s follow-up to The Lobster is a black screen. We hear classical music, then suddenly we’re assaulted with a close-up shot of a beating heart. The camera moves, and we realise that we’re observing open-heart surgery.
If this sounds like it’ll have you squirming, don’t just avoid seeing Sacred Deer; leave town. Once the ultra-bleak plot plays out, you’ll long for the moment Lanthimos allowed you to voyeuristically glimpse the machinations of the human heart. Because, as it turns out, the soul is where the really gruesome stuff is kept.
It has an incredibly simple setup. Our lead Steven (Colin Farrell) has a family (wife, two kids) and a friendship with a young boy. One day, the boy threatens Steven, and he’s forced to make a difficult decision. To say more would be a disservice to a film that revels in its reveals. Tonally, it initially feels like Father Ted’s accidentally wandered into an episode of Nighty Night. Then, the turn comes, and it becomes a completely different experience.
It’s anchored by astonishing performances, including a career-best Farrell, a mesmerisingly creepy Barry Keoghan, a complex Nicole Kidman and a heartbreakingly open Raffey Cassidy. Each actor brings a terrifying realism to every twist of the script.
Make no mistake, this is a horror film – as freaky as The Shining, as scary as The Exorcist. It’s the most intense two hours you’ll have in a cinema this year, and the most impressive – if you’ve got the heart, and stomach, to experience it. Sam Ashurst
Colin Farrell said he “kind of felt nauseous” after first reading the script. We totally get where he’s coming from.