The Killing of a Sacred Deer.

 The Killing of a Sacred Deer  is a thriller that centers around a cardiac surgeon named Steven Murphy (Colin Farrell) and his family. Very early on, we are introduced to a young boy named Martin (Barry Keoghan) who Steven has taken under his wing.  Martin is very strange in some way, but Steven's life seems to be going well as a surgeon, and also as a family man.  He is happily married to an Ophthalmologist named Anna (Nicole Kidman) and has a 15 year old daughter and a 12(?) year old son.  Life seems well here, on paper, but from the very beginning something is not right about anything.

 This film does an amazing job of creating a sense of unease throughout, which builds the suspense.  There is a large amount of silence surrounding the scenes, as if we are to look at whats not being said more so than what is.  The music is discordant and eerie, and the shots leave so many questions for an astute audience member.  There are a few shots in particular where the center of the shot was way to the left of the characters while they were having a dialogue.  These techniques set the stage for an incredibly dry and intense workshop of human emotions and suspenseful situations.  A large amount of the lines that are delivered are very clipped and frank.  It gives stark contrasts to when emotions run rampant later and the silences surrounding the lines.

  I will go ahead and make it known that I thought this was a very eerie and well made film.  I do recommend watching it if you are in the mood for a good thriller, but there is a lot of stuff to unpack for me to review it.  Because of that, I'm going to go ahead and post SPOILER ALERT for my entire review.  While the movie would not be ruined by knowing certain details, I feel that a lot of what made this movie entertaining for me was the constant doubt and uncertainty about what was going on.  My questions were driven by the suspense and I feel like it should be viewed first with as few details as possible to maximize the effect of this film.

 A large part of the suspense that is built seems to go nowhere at first.  Often, I found the action dry and slow to the point of being humorous, but things escalate quickly.  There are multiple awkward conversations and sexual instances that occur which will either make you laugh or cringe depending on how dark your humor is.  No matter you reaction, I cannot stress enough how every scene in this movie is clearly designed to make the audience feel thoroughly uneasy.  Once again...

   SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILER SPOILERS SPOILER SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

 It is revealed that the reason Steven has taken Martin under his wing is because Martin's father died on the operating table under neglectful circumstances.  So it seems that Steven is attempting to alleviate his guilt by spending time with Martin and his mother, even though it often seems to make him uncomfortable.  Martin definitely has some kind of psychological issues that may or may not be related to his father's death, but it's not easy to discern their exact nature.  Suddenly, in the middle of the film, Steven's son inexplicably loses the feeling in his legs.  He is rushed to the hospital for multiple rounds of every test that can be done, which all come out negative.  At this point, Martin demands to meet with Steven.  In a very short conversation, Martin outlines that he must pay for what happened to Martin's father by sacrificing one of his children, or he will lose his whole family. Soon after, Steven's daughter is stricken with the same paralysis, which also proves scientifically inexplicable.  Steven is driven to his wits' end doing anything he can to prevent what he is told will happen.  The scenes become very emotional and the characters begin to act with real emotion for what seems the first time.

 That's about how far I can go without giving up the ending.  I will reiterate that this movie is entirely surreal in concept and feel for any audience.  The cinematography, acting and sound all line up to create a perfect storm of unease, which really drives home the suspense and psychological terror that this film proffers up.  The cast performs their roles with outstanding efficiency, and that only leaves one issues for the audience; what the hell is going on?! As a final spoiler, I will note that there is no given explanation for what is causing this plague over the Murphy family.  Is it witchcraft? Fate? Some sort of mutant ability? Karma?  You do not need to know the answer, and if you want one then this movie will sorely disappoint you.  If you focus on the suspense and the quality of the story as it is told, and accept the premise, you will be in for a masterful thriller!  I thought this film accomplished it's goal perfectly and give it four stars!

🌟🌟🌟🌟✰