MOVIEVIBE ← Back to Home

The Killing of a Sacred Deer

2017 2h 1m
Drama Thriller Mystery
MOVIEVIBE Rating
7.0/10
4,585 reviews
Your Rating
The Killing of a Sacred Deer

Dr. Steven Murphy is a renowned cardiovascular surgeon who presides over a spotless household with his wife and two children. Lurking at the margins of his idyllic suburban existence is Martin, a fatherless teen who insinuates himself into the doctor's life in gradually unsettling ways.

Top Billed Cast

Colin Farrell
Colin Farrell
Steven Murphy
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman
Anna Murphy
Barry Keoghan
Barry Keoghan
Martin Lang
Raffey Cassidy
Raffey Cassidy
Kim Murphy
Sunny Suljic
Sunny Suljic
Bob Murphy
Bill Camp
Bill Camp
Matthew Williams
Alicia Silverstone
Alicia Silverstone
Martin's Mother
Herb Caillouet
Herb Caillouet
Ed Thompson (Hospital Director)

Detailed Critic & Audience Reviews

J jessetaylor Verified TMDB Critic
2017-09-15

My immediate response as soon as this finished was "MASTERPIECE." Lanthimos is back to _Dogtooth_-level craziness with this film and I couldn't be happier. _The Lobster_ was a favourite of mine in 2016, but something about this one's hopelessness drew me in more - odd, I know. Lanthimos' films have characters stuck in dead end situations where they are able to make a choice, but the results of the options are bad and worse. It's a dour story and the film is relentlessly unsettling, but this is what I've come to expect and want out of this Greek maestro.

Sacred Deer is a suburban Greek trage...

G Gimly Verified TMDB Critic
2017-12-10

I am a big fan of some of Yorgos Lanthimos' earlier work, so _The Killing of a Sacred Deer_, which I had been told in no uncertain terms would be a straight up horror movie, was well and truly on the agenda for 2017. Unfortunately, I found that not only was _Sacred Deer_ not at all a horror, but more importantly that it lacked the dark whimsy of something truly odd, like the director's previous film, _Lobster_. Instead it opts for an outright uncomfortable tone. The world is real, boringly so, and it is only the characters who seem unbelievable. Which is a 180 on the sort of absurdism I usuall...

T tmdb23156637 Verified TMDB Critic
2017-12-23

Finally got the chance to see this via Amazon.

Dogtooth and The Lobster (from the same Greek director, who I must admit has a keen sense of storytelling) did not impress me at all. Very interesting ideas; atrocious presentations. Dogtooth was indecipherable and The Lobster is cruel, ugly, and not humorous in any fashion (I've no idea why it's billed as a black comedy.)

However, this latest film is entertaining to me despite it's grim and inky-black nature (based on the ancient Greek play, which is where the title is loosely derived from.) Perhaps it's a bit more straight-forward despite its ...

5 5rJoud Verified TMDB Critic
2021-07-02

**What a shame this could have been excellent**

This film depicts the life of upper class people as we like to imagine it, and brilliantly so. The medical doctors couple have it all figured out, speak in complete sentences and are firm and polite. The house is gorgeous, the children are smart and well behaved. The setting of the story as a whole is very well done, believable and with great actors to boot.

The score is not so great. At times we have experimental "music" that just annoys and does nothing for the mood, but the visuals are exciting to watch, we have interesting camera angles...

N Nathan Verified TMDB Critic
2022-10-14

I found this to be one of the better Yorgos Lanthimos films, but I just cannot get behind his writing style. The stories he delivers are incredibly unique and I want to like them so much more than I actually do. Despite those drawbacks, _The Killing of a Sacred Deer_ was a mind-bending movie that threw me for a loop. The performances were great all around, as they should be with a star-studded cast featuring Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, and Barry Keoghan. The plot was incredibly twisted and dark. I enjoyed this film, but much like Lobster, and really wish there was a more modern spin on the w...