Review of The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) by Connor S — 30 Jan 2018

Did you ever hear the tragedy of Iphigenia in Aulis? I thought not. It's not a story the Trojans would tell you. It's a Greek legend.

The latest from the Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos, known for The Lobster, is a deeply unsettling movie. None of the actors speak with any emotion, instead behaving like cold robots. Cinematographer Thimios Bakatakis pans and tracks each shot with a clinical precision. No matter how much the camera moves, it feels eerily still. Furthermore, he prefers to shoot close-ups at an upward angle from chest-height, a tiny detail that adds to the discomfort. Accompanying this is an orchestral score that serves closer to a sound effect than than a soundtrack. Each musical screech is impeccably timed to provoke a sickening feeling in the viewer's stomach. All the while, the movie makes both subtle and explicit references to Greek mythology.

Understanding both Greek mythology and the crew's surgeon-like approach to film-making is key to understanding The Killing of a Sacred Deer. This is not a traditional horror movie, and that might put off mainstream audiences who have their own expectations about what horror should be. However, this doesn't stop it from being an excellent movie. As long as you're willing to actively think about the film rather than passively experience it, it'll be well worth the view. With it's modern take on Greek tragedies complete with hubris, discomfort, and fatal stubbornness, The Killing of a Sacred Deer is one of the few horror movies that horrifies.