Last night, I went to see "The Killing of a Sacred Deer," the newest film from Yorgos Lanthimos, director of "The Lobster." I went with a friend, and neither of us knew too much about what to expect. I had seen the trailer once or twice, and my friend had only seen the poster. If you're hoping that this review will give you a brief synopsis for this film, you are out of luck. I don't want to spoil a single second of this for anyone, so I'll try to keep this as vague as possible. I've already had a couple people ask me what it was about, to which I responded, "I can't even begin to explain."
If you've seen any of Lanthimos' previous films, you get the sense that he loves making the audience uncomfortable. This film is no exception. Masterfully blending psychological horror with incredibly dark humor, this was possibly the most unique film I've seen all year. I often found myself asking, "Should I even be laughing at this?" But judging by the surrounding audience, I wasn't alone. In order to avoid going into detail about the plot, I'm going to give a quick rundown of some of my favorite things in the film.
The score/soundtrack: There's no doubt that the movie would still be extremely tense even without any form of a soundtrack, but oh boy did this amplify the nerves tenfold. I'm not sure how much of it was an original score, but if the soundtrack was curated to make the viewer uncomfortable, it delivered.
The acting: Barry Keoghan. Keep an eye on him. Between this and "Dunkirk," he is easily one of the best new actors in the scene. Wildly different roles played to perfection.
The camerawork: I don't know a lot of technical jargon, but I am a fan of camera zooms. This film's got a lot of them, which adds to the Kubrickian vibes.
The older couple the row in front of me: Halfway through this movie, I kept thinking to myself, "I love this I love this I love this." Of course, as soon as the closing credits rolled, I expressed my feelings to my friend. There was a couple diagonal to us, maybe in their 60s, who must have heard me, as they looked back with massive grins on their faces. I grinned back, mouthed "oh yeah," and we exchanged nods of approval. I miss them already.
Due to myself not being confident in my own writing, as well as my promises to not spoil this film for anyone, I'll leave you with this. You may have already figured it out, but I absolutely loved this film. If anything I've said above appeals to you, I urge you to go in knowing as little as possible. You may love it, you may hate it, but one thing's for sure: you won't be able to stop thinking about it afterwards.