WISE Score
Avg. Tomatometer
A clinical, bone-chilling modern Greek tragedy that will make you look at spaghetti—and your family—very differently.
79%
79%View →If you want to feel 'good,' watch literally anything else. But if you want a film that functions like a precision-engineered nightmare, this is a masterpiece. It’s cold, it’s weird, and it’s deeply upsetting.
Yorgos Lanthimos doesn't do 'relatable.' He does mythic. This isn't a movie you watch with the kids on a Friday night; it's a movie you watch after they're asleep when you're prepared to feel your skin crawl for two hours. It's brilliant, but it's a heavy lift.
This is strictly for adults and maybe the most mature of film-buff college students. It’s not just the content; it’s the oppressive, hopeless atmosphere that makes it a 'hard 17+'.
Intentionally the opposite of wholesome. It's a clinical, cold-blooded deconstruction of a family unit under extreme, almost mythic duress.
Yorgos Lanthimos is a visionary. The deadpan dialogue, the unsettling camera work, and the modern adaptation of a Greek tragedy are wildly original.
Features psychological torture, child paralysis, self-harm, clinical nudity, and a climactic scene of randomized family execution. Not for the faint of heart.
It's a profound ethical puzzle that forces viewers to grapple with themes of justice, guilt, and the impossible choices of leadership and parenthood.
To understand The Killing of a Sacred Deer, you have to understand the 'Greek Weird Wave.' Director Yorgos Lanthimos (who also did The Lobster and The Favourite) specializes in worlds where the rules of social interaction are slightly tilted. Characters speak with a stilted, monotone delivery that strips away sentimentality, leaving only the raw, brutal mechanics of the plot.
In this case, the plot is a surgical strike on the concept of the 'perfect' suburban family. Colin Farrell plays a surgeon who made a mistake, and Barry Keoghan plays the living embodiment of that mistake coming home to roost. The film transitions from a weirdly awkward drama into a full-blown supernatural thriller without ever changing its tone.
Most horror movies rely on shadows and monsters. This movie does the opposite—it puts everything in the bright, harsh fluorescent light of a hospital. There's nowhere to hide. The horror comes from the inevitability. Once the 'curse' (if you can call it that) is laid out, the movie becomes a countdown.
It’s a polarizing watch. Some people find the dialogue hilarious in its dryness; others find it unbearable. But for an intentional parent looking for a film that sparks a three-hour debate about the nature of sacrifice and the limits of logic, it’s hard to beat. Just don't expect to feel 'safe' while watching it.
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