I am a big fan of some of Yorgos Lanthimos' earlier work, so _The Killing of a Sacred Deer_, which I had been told in no uncertain terms would be a straight up horror movie, was well and truly on the agenda for 2017. Unfortunately, I found that not only was _Sacred Deer_ not at all a horror, but more importantly that it lacked the dark whimsy of something truly odd, like the director's previous film, _Lobster_. Instead it opts for an outright uncomfortable tone. The world is real, boringly so, and it is only the characters who seem unbelievable. Which is a 180 on the sort of absurdism I usually gravitate towards. That said, _Sacred Deer_ still contains some beautiful cinematography, and a couple of the most genuine laugh-out-loud moments I've seen in a movie all year. _Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole._

**What a shame this could have been excellent** This film depicts the life of upper class people as we like to imagine it, and brilliantly so. The medical doctors couple have it all figured out, speak in complete sentences and are firm and polite. The house is gorgeous, the children are smart and well behaved. The setting of the story as a whole is very well done, believable and with great actors to boot. The score is not so great. At times we have experimental "music" that just annoys and does nothing for the mood, but the visuals are exciting to watch, we have interesting camera angles, no shaking and clever zooms and motion. The pace is slow, yet "The Killing of a Sacred Deer" is never boring. There is always a plot twist which is explored after, things take their time but rightfully so. Why the relatively detailed review for a 1.5 star rating? The problem is that the climax is just a huge letdown. The audience can't help themselves but wonder what is going on, guessing on the crime the apparently genius 16 year old villain commits. It is never explained. The makers thought it would be enough to have the bad guy win. It is not enough. In the end everything good about the movie was negated by breaking the suspension of disbelief in a petty way, just ending the movie. Even "The Leftovers" explained its phenomenon, and that show did not need to. There the mystery was the premise for character development, here the mystery is a tool to keep the viewer's attention. I'd like to give less than 1.5 stars, because of how cheated I feel and because of the waste of talent and production value. But I'm sure there are people who love this and people who will learn from this. 18 December 2017 I am migrating my reviews from a different site which has become simply garbage. TMDB looks awesome and I look forward to be a part of it.

I found this to be one of the better Yorgos Lanthimos films, but I just cannot get behind his writing style. The stories he delivers are incredibly unique and I want to like them so much more than I actually do. Despite those drawbacks, _The Killing of a Sacred Deer_ was a mind-bending movie that threw me for a loop. The performances were great all around, as they should be with a star-studded cast featuring Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, and Barry Keoghan. The plot was incredibly twisted and dark. I enjoyed this film, but much like Lobster, and really wish there was a more modern spin on the writing instead of the short choppy and somewhat awkward framing that Lanthimos is known for. **Score:** _65%_ | **Verdict:** _Decent_