The Killing of a Sacred Deer [Film Club Extra 03]

[Spinnaker1981 974]

I don’t feel that strongly... I didn’t enjoy the movie but I don’t hate it! Its just bland and uninteresting and I don’t get why you all like it so much!! What I feel strongly is not understanding why you guys like it so much...  not the movie itself....  

[Con 5,719]

The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)

So much to unpack but I will try and do it efficiently. I could never start this review without stating how f*cking much I loved the opening images of the heart in surgery. I'm pretty sure I was a surgeon in another life because i find medicine absolutely fascinating and do watch all manner of surgery videos because to me those folks are the real Gods. So yeah, waiting for the black screen to transition to the life giving organ was just amaze-b*lls!! I have to find out if that was footage from an actual surgery or if it was a practical effect because if it was, I sure hope that SFX team won an Oscar. I will not lie, that scene excited me because I thought, "guts, f*ck yeah, this is gonna be gross and gory." ---- I very much liked the promise of that....was I satisfied? I'll answer that below. 

I loved the cinematography as it was used expertly to tell the visual story, think about how many angles and camera placements you noticed and this is what adds to the dread you feel because you aren't getting the standard camera placements during something as simple as two people talking, you could be put under a table or just around the corner when a heavy piece of dialogue is being delivered. There is beauty in those tracking shots as we follow behind the characters expecting the unexpected at every turn and those amazing slow zooms into the actors faces when they spoke and when they listened, really helped us see the emotions bubbling beneath the surface of the characters.  I found those tight zooms on the characters helpful and necessary since the characters speak in that monotone-style and would have come across even more wooden...which is one of the film's main criticisms, "the characters speak so robotic."  For me, the way they spoke just hinted that I was in a different universe and found that it made the film more interesting and once I acclimated to their speech patterns, I wasn't as distracted by it... I also think it helped me having seen the film "The Lobster" earlier this year, which is directed by the same director as 'Sacred' and that made it easier to adjust to not just the odd speech but also the strangeness. The way they spoke also worked for me because I have been around people born into affluence and at their parties, everyone speaks so formal and clinical, like they measure their words in order to always say the right thing, afraid to make a mistake.... making them sound like robots, and since Steven (Colin Farrell) and Anna (Nicole Kidman) are both health professionals it was a good fit, I thought a good example of this was when we are informed that Kim (Raffey Cassidy) begins having her period, they speak of it like its just a normal function of the female body and while odd for the average family to be so open about that with strangers, for the Murphys, it works and only would have found the way they speak out of place if say had their occupations been more blue collar types. Another reason I found the way they spoke wonderful was because it added tension once things start going bad ----I was on the edge of my seat the entire time waiting for the characters to explode and arc away from their formal and controlled personalities.

I honestly felt that what made this film work for me was the performance by the kid, Martin (Barry Keoghan), sadly the people that couldn't get past the way the characters speak probably missed the fantastic acting. Barry Keoghan made this film work. From the moment he is on screen and speaks, I just felt unnerved because he didn't look like he was acting and seemed more like a kid on the autism spectrum who is trying to be normal. He goes from coming across as the victim to actually being the one in control, and the latter makes him more disturbing as he displays controlled rage. But for me the standout actor was no other than the always brilliant Nicole Kidman, her portrayal as Anna was really fantastic as she has to deal with the emotions of being in the dark about everything and having to research things for herself and then create that wonderful animosity towards Steven and when she begins to let him have it for being "pathetic".....whoa....she seethes with venom at the entire situation. That leads to that spaghetti scene between Anna and Martin which I found just super superb! Anna is there to diffuse Martin's plan as he eats but here is where Anna finally gets it....the alternatives are clear from that point on for her and there aren't many. Let's talk about this scene for a bit, it starts off awkward just by the fact that Martin is eating spaghetti in the morning before school!!! and then the scene really gets wonderfully odd when Martin starts telling her about how him and his father ate spaghetti in a similar fashion...So Anna is there to try and gain mercy and Martin just tells her that irrelevant spaghetti story. I loved how the camera stays on Anna's face and we hear Martin O.S. (off-screen) eating, her expressions are just awesome. In a film full of interesting scenes, this one stood out to me the most because it is where we learn that there is no negotiating with Martin, which becomes the most critical thing in the story. 

Let's talk story....The fragmented narrative  was brilliant as the story works because of the underlying tone which I believe you create on your own depending on your imagination, what I mean is that the limited information we get from the start, mainly regarding Martin and Steven's relationship. We have no clue how these two relate and your left to fill in that blank. That blank was disturbing to me because I instantly began to suspect their relationship, especially once Steven gives Martin the watch as a gift. My imagination took their interaction as a mental or physical exploitation of the young man...."Keep our secret and I will rain all manner of gifts on you." But what is the secret? Is the boy his son out of wedlock? Is the boy a young male prostitute? Is the boy autistic and being exploited sexually? Like I said, depending on how you interpret what you are seeing, that will set the films tone for you. I was creeped out because I felt at any moment Steven wouldn't be able to contain his urge and jump on Martin and m*lest him and come to find out, it's nothing like that and those moments of Martin's curiosity in Steven's body hair had nothing to do with an attraction and it was just Martin being an awkward teenager and the person actually holding all the power turns out to be Martin and his power only grows as the film goes on. I broke down the film down into two sections of psychological horror, the first section was the threat of learning what lascivious secret the two men were holding. The second section is the threat of whatever Martin was doing to cause the family stress and suffering. Both were effective because just as we finally learn the secret and Martin's agenda, we are thrust into the mystery of not just the mysterious illnesses but how Martin is manipulating the illnesses and here  is also where I felt the strength of the film , it's ambiguousness, was also its weakness, this is what I mean...I was okay with not knowing exactly how Martin was causing everything, I liked trying to guess if Martin was a demon, a warlock, an angel, an alien, a voodoo enthusiast, in order to control the illness, or maybe he just put some biological agent on the gifts he gives Kim and Bob (Sunny Suljic), you know, during one of his many visits to the hospital, he used knowing Dr. Steven Murphy, to get around and get access to discarded biohazard virus containers. The problem or weakness in this narrative is that some people like things fully explained and exactly what the illness was and how it worked is never explained, making it more confusing when we get to that scene where Martin is outside the hospital and calls Kim in her hospital room and instructs her to walk, and she magically does just that as if he had some supernatural power. I did expect to learn who Martin was from that point but we don't, next thing you know he is kidnapped and the focus turns to the Murphys from that point on. It wasn't until a few hours later that it dawned on me that perhaps Kim played along with Martin and can explain why his phone call to her enabled her to walk briefly, implying that he had some supernatural control over the condition hence convincing the parents to make that heartbreaking decision. Maybe Kim knew Martin wouldn't let her die and did play along after making a pact with him...and here is why I felt they missed giving it that extra horror moment in the third act. Yes, the part that probably freaked out most people was just a jog in the park for me, and is where the jogger missed making their run more intense. Now I didn't want the thin relationship element but imagine learning that Kim had made a pact with Martin for her to live no matter what, and then unexpectedly have Steven knock the entire family unconscious, bind and gag them up, practically disabling Kim from being able to reveal Martin's compassion for her life to her dad, and practically saving her life. That would have added that extra element of dread and psychological tension for me, because I felt Steven's decision to spin around and shoot blindly was too random and silly. While I appreciated the humor in the film, who can beat Kim announcing that Bob was dying so humorously when his eyes began to bleed or the even more hilarious scene where Steven asks the school administrator which one of his children is smarter, implying justification in killing the dumber child, those jokes were priceless, But I still would have liked for less humor in that intense gut-wrenching scene, and maybe it wasn't supposed to come across as funny but I couldn't help but laugh as he spins around cause he looked so silly. 

So while I easily transported to this world the Murphys live in, I had hard times with how none of the medical tests revealed what was wrong with the children, so that theory that Martin stole some biohazard materials from the hospital is basically in the toilet. So is Martin some supernatural being who can manipulate diseases? and if that is true, why couldn't he help his father before he needed Steven to perform the surgery? Another thing I had a tough time with was, once the illness/disease sent the children to the hospital, why wouldn't they go to the police, these are affluent people...he is a respected surgeon and she is a director of a clinic, even if Martin told them he was responsible for his father's death, how could he prove it? I didnt buy that Martin had any evidence which could prove Steven was drunk, unless I missed that in the film. I dont remember Martin having anything to prove Steven's guilt except Steven's own confession to him. I mean, why would the anesthesiologist friend betray him? Afterall he does get a h*nd job for disclosing the information.  I know, if the Murphys went to the police the kids would still die but at least they could put Martin on the spot and get him to stop, which seemed like the most realistic thing for them to do. I just dont buy that those two parents would agree to killing one of their own, but I get that this is the world the film is set in, but I can also see how that can turn off the person expecting a more linear course of action in that situation. Like my friend puts it whenever I make him watch a film like this...."I dont have time for metaphors.", so he wouldnt like it and thats too bad because the film is unique and analyzing it further adds to it more than just one viewing.

 Time to answer that question at the start of this review....was I satisfied in the end? Yes and no. But this is no fault of what is on screen and more due to how much horror and terror I have consumed in other films and the promise of the gore and grossness of that opening shot of the heart in surgery was just a bad tease. Dont get me wrong, i understood the horror of coming across someone that could control disease in your loved ones bodies because of an error you made that you cannot take back, that is scary stuff but the mystery of whether the children would die or not does not scare me as much as seeing said children die on screen, while watching this I thought of a similar film i watched that I unapologetically liked and that was "The House That Jack Built", now I know that these are two different films but that film had all the terrors and horrors covered which was right up my alley. That film didnt explain everything either but it does show everything and had me more unnerved throughout, best way I can put it is, I felt safe watching 'Sacred', I didnt feel safe watching "The House that Jack Built". 'Sacred' does have that devilish self biting moment, and I wish they wouldnt have made the "decision" at the end look so silly. I mean, russian roulette would have been more personal and heart-wrenching to watch as it would have not required a blindfold and would have looked less silly to pull off.  So yes, I was let down by the lack of horror gore and I get that it wasnt that type of film, I still like my psychological horror with a dash of quality gore. Again, this negative opinion is mainly my fault for sneaking in films like I Spit On Your Grave (1978) and The Gates of Hell (1980) before I was even a teenager. 

I did feel unnerved while watching Sacred, but the third act lost some of that for me. This was a biological revenge psychological horror film in the unique style of the director, Yorgos Lathimos. I can see now why people consider his  2018 film, "The Favourite" his most "normal" film. I enjoyed watching this film and appreciated having to take time to interpret some of it post-viewing. It is effective due to its amazing performances and yes, I know some people think the acting sucks because its robotic, but that is tough for an actor to pull off since for years they have trained to do the exact opposite and emote everything physically and emotionally. I think the mundane dialogue turns people off but think about how much throwaway sentences you say in one entire day. Just earlier my wife came in the kitchen and said, "The box of crackers on top of the fridge is opened." That line could be in this film.

Okay time to close this out. Final Verdict...3/5... I enjoyed the story in general but found that the payoff wasn't satisfying in execution. Yes, it is horrific to be put in a position to kill one of your loved ones but I feel I have seen stuff like that done more terrifying and more horrific and the director's style took me away from caring about who was going to die at the end as the dark humor conflicts with the severity of the situation. The moment that haunted me the most was when Bob's eyes start to bleed.....I wanted more of that kind of thing and less unexplained supernatural stuff. I think the reason the film splits audiences because it flips from dark humor to more serious tones and it's hard for a film labeled as a horror film to be both while having its own unique signature directing style. This is a Lathimos Horror film and not a standard horror film and that is a better way to let people know what type of horror to expect. The psychological horror didn't hit me the way some other films have because I didn't think the third act served as nothing more than to shock the viewer with he kidnapping that goes nowhere, we learn nothing new from it, nothing that we didn't learn from the spaghetti scene. The film worked for me with its ambiguity and fragmented narrative, the acting was strong once you make sense of why they speak like they do. Where it failed was in keeping me fully engaged as at times it just slows to a crawl and once the premise was presented and I didnt feel the parents acted realistically and instead became prisoners to Martin as if Steven and Martin were having an affair and they were afraid it would be exposed through photos or something in that fashion. You really have to be in the horror artsy mood to watch this or you might fall asleep waiting for something to happen in the first two acts. Well there you have it....im split on it...I liked many aspects of it but also was let down by its resolution. A film for deeper study and analysis, this film is tailor made for that but its too artsy and too much of a signature style for the person that just wants to get in and get out quickly with everything explained with a bow on top.

Edited January 8, 2022 by Con

[LimeGreenLegend 4,277]

Great write up @Con and yeah, that’s a real heart at the start of the film!

I can see how you’d be a bit disappointed in the film if you’re a gorehound, but to me the clinical sterility of the film makes it scarier.  Totally down to your personal taste though.

[Con 5,719]

27 minutes ago, LimeGreenLegend said:

Great write up @Con and yeah, that’s a real heart at the start of the film!

I can see how you’d be a bit disappointed in the film if you’re a gorehound, but to me the clinical sterility of the film makes it scarier.  Totally down to your personal taste though.

I did think the notion of having someone controlling a disease in you scary and the psycho in me enjoyed the setup to resolve everything at the end, I just thought the execution of the scene took me out of the real dread I should have been feeling.  This film isnt for the basic horror fan.  I felt a little like you and a little like Spin....I enjoyed some of it but not something I can recommend to everyone and its not the films fault its just an acquired taste...it was horror-lite and there is nothing wrong with that and at least it didn't disappoint with a happy ending, where I would have given it a 2/5. I can totally see why you gave it a high score and why Spin gave it a low score. I was in the middle about it. I think what frustrates people is that there is so much attention to small details like Martin changing the watch band and then we dont get to see how Martin got the family sick. Unlike in Hereditary (2018) where we get to see what is afflicting the family...now that disturbed me and that was sort of gore-lite but very effective when applied.  Another film that disturbed me about seeing a family go through some fucked up shit was Funny Games (2007), what that family goes through is very disturbing.

Edited November 6, 2019 by Con

[Spinnaker1981 974]

You see, @Con the way I see it, there is an happy ending! They continued living their live, that is the happy ending My happy ending would´ve been for Martin to get up from that chair and just slaughter them.... that would´ve made that movie ok. Not good, but OK...

[Con 5,719]

20 minutes ago, Spinnaker1981 said:

You see, @Con the way I see it, there is an happy ending! They continued living their live, that is the happy ending My happy ending would´ve been for Martin to get up from that chair and just slaughter them.... that would´ve made that movie ok. Not good, but OK...

I would have liked to have seen some more brutality honestly, or having Anna run over Martin in the parking lot of the diner they meet up at the very end after the sacrifice. Have her run his body over and over and over, releasing her rage. It was an interesting story for sure. It was unique in its style and I can see how haunting the story is to others. 

[Fido_le_muet 5,198]

I think it's much better if you don't try to find an explanation for Martin's powers or the kids disease. The movie is not about that. But if I had to guess, I'd say it's voodoo stuff or something like that. 

[Con 5,719]

1 hour ago, Fido_le_muet said:

I think it's much better if you don't try to find an explanation for Martin's powers or the kids disease.

I watched some interviews and the actors themselves have stated that they don't even know the answer to those questions as Yargos never revealed that to them. So no one but him knows the truth and I get that some things work better when not explored but I couldn't help wanting to know how Martin pulled it off since they show us how all the doctors are perplexed at this mystery illness. That's a big juicy piece of narrative that was dangled in front of me, leaving me wanting to know more. I accepted not being shown how Martin knew his dad died due to Steven's error---- which I felt was another juicy piece of narrative, that I was fine not having explained, but I'd like some of my questions answered. Again, just a personal thing.  Tonight I will read all the reviews posted so far, so be prepared to discuss!!! 

Edited November 6, 2019 by Con

[LimeGreenLegend 4,277]

@Con I've read that Lanthimos writes his script without any backstory for the characters.  Everything he wants you to know about them he puts in the film.  The rest is up to us to interpret for ourselves.

[Fido_le_muet 5,198]

12 minutes ago, LimeGreenLegend said:

@Con I've read that Lanthimos writes his script without any backstory for the characters.  Everything he wants you to know about them he puts in the film.  The rest is up to us to interpret for ourselves.

That is brilliant, if you're receiptive of that kind of stuff. If you like to have explanations about stuff like Spin and Con, then you are gonna be disappointed. It's a risky move for a director because from the start you exclude a lot of people. 

[Con 5,719]

29 minutes ago, LimeGreenLegend said:

@Con I've read that Lanthimos writes his script without any backstory for the characters.  Everything he wants you to know about them he puts in the film.  The rest is up to us to interpret for ourselves.

Yeah, he writes very unconventional, I like that. I dont always need to know everything about the characters but did want to know how exactly Martin knew Steven had made a mistake in the O.R., just giving me that would have quenched that desire to know just a little more. When a film is psychologically heavy with images that border between realism and the supernatural, I get into investigator mode and want to know more, as you read, I did try and come up with my own ideas of who Martin was and his abilities. It's not the films fault the disturbing stuff didn't disturb me fully so I don't knock it for that...it wasnt supposed to be a mindless gore-fest. 

Edited November 6, 2019 by Con

[Con 5,719]

12 minutes ago, Fido_le_muet said:

That is brilliant, if you're receiptive of that kind of stuff. If you like to have explanations about stuff like Spin and Con, then you are gonna be disappointed. It's a risky move for a director because from the start you exclude a lot of people. 

Like I just replied to Lime above, I didn't want everything explained, just some of the things I was teased with should have been elaborated, this was a mystery where the mystery is never revealed and instead violence takes its place to end the film. 

[Con 5,719]

On 10/8/2019 at 12:15 PM, LimeGreenLegend said:

A.  Their conversation is also sterile and bland, like every other conversation so far, talking about buying a new couch and Bob getting a haircut.  Anna has a great line here at the end of the scene.  Kim gets jealous of her brother after Anna compliments his hair, and Anna, to placate her, says "we all have lovely hair".  I found that so sinister and honestly, I can't really say why, it just stuck with me. 

B.  Along with the flowers, he has bought presents for Kim and Bob, ingratiating him with the family.  He goes to hang out with the kids in Kim's room, smoking a cigarette because he's a bad influence, where she unabashedly tells him "I just got my first period".  

C.   Steven repeats that he's leaving, at which point I got a huge laugh out of Martin's Mother saying "I won't let you leave until you try my tart" which is as tragic as it is funny, as all throughout this scene Martin's Mother is painted as a very hurt, lonely, and emotionally damaged woman.

And that's why it's a 10/10

That was a Gold Star review my friend. I can see why you really enjoyed it as you saw way more in it than I did and you elaborated everything perfectly. 

These are some of the things that I wanted to briefly touch upon in your review.

A. I also found that dinner conversation haunting as it told me that the parents prefered the son and it was a misdirection because I figured the filmmaker was setting up who the Sacred Deer was going to be. Not having Anna simply say, "Kim your hair is also beautiful" was really what I would expect a loving parent to say. 

B. I really liked that she brings up her period because it showed that this family hid nothing from one another and is one of the reasons Anna feels so betrayed by Steven's lies about the truth of the situation. 

C. I felt Martin's mother was the vehicle that would finish derailing Steven's marriage and we see that strategy attempted during the spaghetti scene when Martin tells Anna about the attraction between his mother and Steven, which is non-existent as Steven rejected her advances. I thought Alicia Silverstone did a great job in that minor role.

Thanks for taking time to write that review, pal. Great job.