History Film / TheKillingOfASacredDeer

* {{Infodump}}: In a rather one sided conversation between Steven and Martin, Steven lays out pretty much the entire premise of the story, including the stages of the curse, the fact that he has to choose one of his family members to kill, and the fact that Martin's father died in surgery.

* LeaveTheCameraRunning: Several shots, especially those in the hospital, are still shots with a slow zoom. This adds to the general unease of the whole thing.

Dr. Steven Murphy (Farrell) is a renowned cardiovascular surgeon with a wife (Kidman) and two children (Cassidy, Suljic) that share an idyllic suburban life. Eventually, Steven crosses paths with a strange, fatherless teenage boy named Martin (Keoghan), who begins getting more and more involved in the Murphys' lives with a personal grudge and mysterious powers that, combining with a resurfaced tragedy, will affect the family irreversibly.

The film's script, which Lanthimos wrote alongside Greek writer Efthymis Filippou, was inspired by Euripides' ancient Greek tragedy ''Iphigenia in Aulis''. The film premiered at the 70th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2017, where it won the Best Screenplay award, and was released in theaters starting on October 20, 2017, with its American distribution handled by Creator/{{A24}}.

* VillainousBSOD: Martin mentions that after his father's death, he was told that he eats spaghetti exactly like him. When he learned that everyone eats spaghetti the same way, he was extremely upset, even more so than when his father actually died.

* FanDisservice: The anesthesiologist demands a handjob from Anna as payment for revealing that Dr. Murphy was drinking on the day of Barry's father's death.

''The Killing of a Sacred Deer'' is a 2017 PsychologicalThriller directed by the Greek director Creator/YorgosLanthimos starring Creator/ColinFarrell and Creator/NicoleKidman.

Dr. Steven Murphy (Farrell) is a renowned cardiovascular surgeon with a wife (Kidman) and two children that share an idyllic suburban life. Eventually, a strange, fatherless teenage boy named Martin (Creator/BarryKeoghan) begins getting more and more involved in the Murphys' lives with a personal grudge and mysterious powers that, combining with a resurfaced tragedy, will affect the family irreversibly.

* SignatureStyle: Much like ''Film/TheLobster'' and ''Film/{{Dogtooth}}'', every character speaks in a precise and somewhat robotic fashion, often making blunt and off-topic remarks that would be shocking in our own society but which go without comment in the film.

* JerkassHasAPoint: When Anna calls Stephen out for his denial of the situation (for asking her to make mashed potatoes when their kids are dying in the other room) and tells him to do something to put an end to it, Stephen goes into a long, sarcastic rant on how they can perform some crazy ritual to break the curse; it may be Stephen's fault for Martin cursing the family, but since it is supernatural there is seemingly not much that he can do about it.

* DaylightHorror: Many tense, frightening moments happen in broad daylight. It helps to emphasize the fact that the family is ''never'' safe from Martin's power.

* ADateWithRosiePalms: Steven mentions that he masturbated a lot at Bob's age and was worried that he wasn't ejaculating a normal amount, so to check, he once went to his drunk, sleeping father and ''gave him a handjob to see how much he would ejaculate'' to compare. [[{{Squick}} Yuck.]]

* AmbiguousDisorder: Martin seems on the autism spectrum: he speaks in a flat, unchanging voice, occasionally repeats certain words, expresses how he's feeling with no emotion whatsoever, and is exceptionally socially awkward. And he manages to stick out for this in a movie where ''everyone'' talks with a rather flat and emotionless affect.

* When Steven uses the SpinTheBottle technique to [[spoiler:select a family member for the sacrifice]], he succeeds on the third trial.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Martin seems to be on the autism spectrum: he speaks in a flat, unchanging voice, occasionally repeats certain words, expresses how he's feeling with no emotion whatsoever and is exceptionally socially awkward. And he manages to stick out for this in a movie where ''everyone'' talks with a rather flat and emotionless affect.
* AmbiguousSituation: [[spoiler: Who, or what, exactly is Martin? He seems like a normal, if not particularly strange, kid but he appears to have the ability to place curses on people, turning it on and off at will. It's never explained how or why he was able to do that.]]
** [[spoiler: Whether Martin would have continued to let Steven and his family live in peace if Steven hadn't snubbed him after his interaction with his mother. Steven had been interacting with the kid for either 6 months or 2 years by the time the events of the movie happened, and Martin hadn't done anything to him in that time span. It was only after Steven deliberately ignored him that he decided that it was time for retribution had come]].
** [[spoiler: While Anna was counted as part of the potential sacrifices, she is never shown to be afflicted by any stages of the curse. The fact that she isn't is addressed in the movie, but never explained]].

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Steven ultimately opts to fulfill the prophecy and [[TheBadGuyWins allow Martin to get his way]] by killing Bob.]]

* ParentalFavoritism: Done terrifyingly once Kim and Bob return home. They have a lengthy conversation that, on the surface, might be any sibling argument over who is the favorite...except in this case, they're making cases about why Steven will choose the other for the sacrifice.

* [[spoiler: Whether Martin would have continued to let Steven and his family live in peace if Steven hadn't snubbed him after his interaction with his mother. Steven had been interacting with the kid for either 6 months or 2 years by the time the events of the movie happened, and Martin hadn't done anything to him in that time span. It was only after Steven deliberately ignored him that he decided that it was time for retribution had come]].
* [[spoiler: While Anna was counted as part of the potential sacrifices, she is never shown to be afflicted by any stages of the curse. The fact that she isn't is addressed in the movie, but never explained]].

* AmbiguousSitation: [[spoiler: Who, or what, exactly is Martin? He seems like a normal, if not particularly strange, kid but he appears to have the ability to place curses on people, turning it on and off at will. It's never explained how or why he was able to do that.]]

* LoveAtFirstNote: Though it isn't clear if Martin has any actual feelings for them (and it's implied he doesn't), the first sign of blossoming romance between he and Kim is when she sings Music/EllieGoulding's "Burn" to him.

* MagicalRealism: Aside from at the start when Steven refuses to believe that Bob (and by extension Kim and Anna) is cursed mostly out of denial of the situation they are in, nobody really questions whether Martin has really cursed the family. They mostly just accept it in relative stride and begin trying to influence Steven's decision on who has to die.

* RuleOfThree: When Steven uses the SpinTheBottle technique to [[spoiler:select a family member for the sacrifice]], he succeeds on the third trial.
* SadisticChoice: Martin tells Steven that he must choose one of his family members to die, either one of his children or his spouse.

* AdultFear: [[spoiler:[[SadisticChoice Being forced to]] kill one of your children or your spouse, or your whole family dies.]]

* SadisticChoice: Martin tells Steven that he must choose one of his family members to die.

* JerkassHasAPoint: When Anna calls Stephen out for his seeming indifference to the situation (for asking her to make mashed potatoes when their kids are dying in the other room) and asks him to do something to put an end to it, Stephen goes into a long, sarcastic rant on how they can perform some crazy ritual to break the curse; it may be Stephen's fault for Martin cursing the family but since it is supernatural there is seemingly not much that he can do.

Dr. Steven Murphy (Farrell) is a renowned cardiovascular surgeon with a wife (Kidman) and two children that share an idyllic suburban life. Eventually, a strange, fatherless teenage boy named Martin begins getting more and more involved in the Murphys' lives with a personal grudge and mysterious powers that, combining with a resurfaced tragedy, will affect the family irreversibly.

* MeaningfulName: In a story with heavy subtexts of divine retribution, it's fitting that ''Martin'' is derived from Mars, the god of war.

''The Killing of a Sacred Deer'' is a 2017 PsychologicalThriller directed by the Greek director Creator/YorgosLanthimos starring Creator/ColinFarrell and Creator/NicoleKidman. It tells the story of a cardiologist who is psychologically tormented by a high school student with a personal grudge and mysterious powers.

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Steven shoots Bob. Martin shows up at the same diner the rest of the family is eating at, and they all get up and leave. Martin watches them go. The End.]]
* DudeShesLikeInAComa: The first indication we get that Steven is not the best guy is when he role plays "general anesthesia" with Anna, in which he had sex with her while she pretends that she is sedated. [[note]]The technical term for this kind of sexual arousal is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somnophilia somnophilia]].[[/note]]

* AdultFear: [[SadisticChoice Being forced to]] kill one of your children or your spouse, or your whole family dies.

* BestServedCold: Martin shows no obvious signs of anger toward Steven. On the contrary, he spends a lot of time earnestly trying to develop a relationship with him. Even when describing his plans for revenge, he explains them without any sign of anger or relish and states flatly that they are the only thing he could think of to balance the scales of justice.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Mathew is apparently Steven's best friend and coworker, but he tried to have an affair with Anna behind Steven's back and later completely blames Steven for the death of Martin's father the exact same way Steven blamed him while selling that information to Anna for a handjob.

* ADateWithRosiePalms: Steven mentions that he masturbated a lot at Bob's age and was worried that he wasn't ejaculating a normal amount, so to check, he once went to his drunk, sleeping father and ''gave him a handjob to see how much he would ejaculate'' to compare. Yuck.

* GreyAndGrayMorality: At first it appears that Steven is facing DisproportionateRetribution for an innocent mistake committed years ago, and Martin acknowledges that this recourse is not fair, but the reveal that Steven was drunk while operating on Martin's father lessens the sympathy viewers may feel for him. Steven's actions later in the film also evoke some questionable morality, such as kidnapping a teenager and beating him up in his basement.

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Martin gets away with his plan of revenge on Steven, Steven gets away with killing Bob, and Matthew gets away with whatever his role was in the death of Martin's father as well as gets a handjob out of the bargain]].

* MamaBear: Zig-zagged in a frightening fashion. Anna does rail against the doctors who try to dismiss her children's illnesses and insists that they come home rather than stay in the hospital. However, she never once considers sacrificing herself to break the curse, even telling Steven that choosing one of the children is a ''better option'' because they can always have another.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Steven realizes Martin is telling the truth when Bob refuses his favorite donut.

* RiddleForTheAges: It's never clear how or even whether Martin is affecting the children. The doctors are unable to find anything wrong with them. Steven frequently accuses them of faking it. Martin tells Steven that everyone in his family will eventually suffer the same afflictions, but even as Bob supposedly approaches death, neither Steven nor Anna experience any of his promised symptoms.

* TearsOfBlood: Martin informs Dr. Murphy that the third phase of the mysterious illness is that his family members will start bleeding from their eyes; death will follow a few hours later. Dr. Murphy is eventually forced to choose after Bob starts bleeding from his eyes.
* TeethFlying: In the TortureCellar, Martin spits out a tooth after getting punched in the face by Steven.
* TortureIsIneffective: Steven abducts Martin and attempts to torture him into ending the curse, but it doesn't work.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Martin seems to be on the autism spectrum: he speaks in a flat, unchanging voice, occasionally repeats certain words, expresses how he's feeling with no emotion whatsoever, and is exceptionally socially awkward. And he manages to stick out for this in a movie where ''everyone'' talks with a rather flat and emotionless affect.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Mathew is apparently Steven's best friend and coworker, but he tried to have an affair with Anna behind Steven's back, and later completely blames Steven for the death of Martin's father the exact same way Steven blamed him while selling that information to Anna for a handjob.

* DudeShesLikeInAComa: The first indication we get that Steven is not the best guy is when he role plays "general anesthesia" with Anna, in which he had sex with her while she pretends that she is sedated. [[note]]The technical term for this kind of sexually arousal is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somnophilia somnophilia]].[[/note]]

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Martin gets away with his plan of revenge on Steven, Steven gets away with killing Bob, and Matthew gets away with whatever his role was in the death of Martin's father as well as gets a hand job out of the bargain]].

* RuleOfThree: When Steven uses a SpinTheBottle technique to [[spoiler:select a family members for the sacrifice]], he succeeds on the third trial.

* GreyAndGrayMorality: At first it appears that Steven is facing
harsh punishment for an innocent mistake committed years ago, and Martin acknowledges that this recourse is not fair, but the reveal that Steven was drunk while operating on Martin's father lessens the sympathy viewers may feel for him. Steven's actions later in the film also evoke some questionable morality, such as kidnapping a teenager and beating him up in his basement.

DisproportionateRetribution for an innocent mistake committed years ago, and Martin acknowledges that this recourse is not fair, but the reveal that Steven was drunk while operating on Martin's father lessens the sympathy viewers may feel for him. Steven's actions later in the film also evoke some questionable morality, such as kidnapping a teenager and beating him up in his basement.