Cornwall Film Festival // The Killing of a Sacred Deer

Dir. Yorgos Lanthimos | Ireland / UK | 112 min

The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) is a psychological thriller-horror film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster), reuniting him with Colin Farrell and also starring Nicole Kidman. It was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or in the main competition section at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, going on to win the Best Screenplay award.

Steven (Colin Farrell), an eminent cardiothoracic surgeon is married to Anna (Nicole Kidman), a respected ophthalmologist. They are well off and live a happy and healthy family life with their two children, Kim, 14 (Raffey Cassidy) and Bob, 12 (Sunny Suljic). Steven has formed a

friendship with Martin (Barry Keoghan), a fatherless 16 year-old boy whom he has taken under his wing. Things take a sinister turn when Steven introduces Martin to his family, gradually throwing their world into turmoil and forcing Steven to make a shocking sacrifice or run the risk of losing everything. 

‘An excellently crafted movie, with great scenes, music, performances and a huge debt to Stanley Kubrick,’ Kaleem Aftab, The Independent

‘To see an unfettered nightmare like this from such an idiosyncratic director feels like a cruel treat, and a welcome stylistic stretch,’ Emily Yoshida, Vulture 

★★★★★ The Telegraph