The Cinematheque

“Lanthimos is less interested in moral shock therapy or social criticism than in aesthetic estrangement. Sacred Deer feels like a dark, opaque bit of folklore transplanted into an off-kilter modern setting.”

A.O. Scott, The New York Times

A fatherless teen (Barry Keoghan) insinuates himself into the lives of an acclaimed cardiovascular surgeon (Colin Farrell) and his perfect suburban family. Inspired by the Greek tragedy Iphigenia in Aulis by Euripides, Yorgos Lanthimos’s second English-language film is a chillingly note-perfect masterpiece of psychological horror and a suspenseful interrogation of the themes of fate and karmic retribution. The Killing of a Scared Deer, winner of Best Screenplay at Cannes, demonstrates Lanthimos’s mastery over all aspects of filmmaking, especially mise-en-scene, ensemble performance, and those particularly difficult aspects that only top filmmakers can achieve—tonal control and rhythm. With its various nods to The Shining, and more than a soupçon of absurdism, Sacred Deer deepens Lanthimos’s twisted look at families and the darkness within them.

DCP courtesy of A24

“[Lanthimos] crafts a cinematic world that can support his otherworldly scenario, while also creating genuine suspense … You walk out feeling like you’ve truly had an experience.”

Bilge Ebiri, Village Voice