The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)
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A surgeon's life is upended when a mysterious teenager with a connection to his past begins to exert a terrifying influence over his family.
The story
After performing an open heart surgery, cardiac surgeon Steven Murphy meets 16-year-old Martin Lang at a diner. Steven invites the boy to meet his family, and while Martin initially makes a good impression, the family begins to fall mysteriously ill. As Martin's demands for Steven's attention grow increasingly desperate and frequent, the situation escalates into a tense standoff. Steven must navigate a bizarre and threatening ultimatum from the boy, who claims that a debt from the past must be paid in blood, threatening the lives of everyone in the surgeon's household.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Following a surgery where he performed a procedure on Martin Lang's father, surgeon Steven Murphy meets the now-teenage Martin. After a dinner where Martin's mother attempts to seduce Steven, Martin begins appearing at Steven's office with complaints of chest pain. When Martin's demands for attention escalate, Steven's family begins to suffer: his son Bob becomes paralyzed, and his daughter Kim is hospitalized. Martin reveals that he believes Steven must kill a member of his family to balance the scales for his father's death; otherwise, all four will die. As the children's conditions worsen, the tension peaks. Steven eventually restrains and harms Martin, but the threat remains. In a final, desperate act of 'retributive justice,' Steven places his wife and children in a circle and fires a rifle, ultimately killing Bob. The film ends with the surviving family members encountering Martin at a diner, where they are left to deal with the aftermath of the tragedy.
- First release year
- 2017
- Runtime (minutes)
- 121
- Production countries
- Ireland; United Kingdom
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Yorgos Lanthimos
- Writers
- Efthimis Filippou · writer; Yorgos Lanthimos · writer
- Cast and characters
- Colin Farrell · Steven Murphy; Nicole Kidman · Anna Murphy; Barry Keoghan · Martin Lang; Raffey Cassidy · Kimberly "Kim" Murphy; Sunny Suljic · Robert "Bob" Murphy; Alicia Silverstone · Martin's Mother; Bill Camp · Matthew Williams
- Genres
- absurdist; psychological horror; thriller
- Themes
- retributive justice; medical malpractice; fate; sacrifice
- Tone and mood
- absurdist; eerie; disturbing
- Premise and plot tags
- medical; supernatural-adjacent; family drama
- Source material / true-story basis
- Iphigenia in Aulis by Euripides
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews from critics who praised the direction, screenplay, cinematography, and performances, particularly those of Keoghan, Farrell, and Kidman.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 73 · scale: 100 · review count: 45
- Awards and nominations
- Best Director · European Film Awards · Nomination; Best Screenwriter · European Film Awards · Nomination; Best Actor · European Film Awards · Nomination
- Production trivia
- The title is derived from the Greek tragedy Iphigenia in Aulis.; It was the second collaboration between Yorgos Lanthimos and Colin Farrell.; The film was shot in the Hyde Park and Northside neighborhoods of Cincinnati.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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