Kidman in horror story

In The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Kidman plays the mother of children mysteriously struck with paralysis, which director Yorgos Lanthimos says is a comedy, but plays out much more like a horror film.

Kidman and Irish actor Colin Farrell play a couple of married doctors in the movie.

The new picture takes that movie’s laconic tone and twists into something much darker, after Farrell’s heart surgeon character operates on a man while he is drunk and kills him.

Years later, the dead man’s teenage son plots revenge, telling the surgeon he must choose a member of his family to kill or they will all suffer an excruciating death.

Despite the bone-chilling story inspired by the ancient Greek myth of Iphigenia, the movie also drew big laughs at a packed press screening with pitch-black humour.

Kidman admitted the film was disturbing, after a few dozen queasy critics walked out of the screening when the blood began to flow. It drew a mix of boos and applause as the curtain fell but strong reviews from leading critics.

“I have a certain moral compass which I abide by in terms of what I feel I will and won’t do as a human being. But when I choose a director to work with, obviously that’s a risk and I’m totally up for taking risks,” she said. “When I watched the film I called (Lanthimos) afterwards and said I have not seen anything like it – I felt hypnotised by it,” Kidman added.