The Killing of a Sacred Deer

Steven Murphy, a skilled cardiothoracic surgeon in Cincinnati, finishes an open heart surgery, and goes to a diner, where he meets a teenage boy named Martin. Afterward, Steven returns home to his wife, Anna, and their children, teenager Kim and younger son Bob. Anna and Steven have sex where Anna pretends to be under the effect of anaesthesia. He later tells Anna that Martin's father died in a car accident ten years earlier, and that he has taken an interest in the boy to help him deal with his grief. Martin comes to the Murphy household for dinner; Kim seems rather taken with him.

Martin returns the favor by inviting Steven to his mother's home for dinner. After the meal, Steven tries to leave but Martin insists he watch a movie with them. Martin leaves halfway through, and his mother makes a romantic advance on Steven by complimenting his hands and attempting to kiss them and suck them. However, Steven immediately rebuffs her and goes home. Over the next few days, Martin's demands on Steven's time grow increasingly frequent and desperate, but Steven does not reply. One morning, Bob awakens and finds he cannot feel his legs; he has become paralyzed. Steven and Anna rush him to the hospital, where an examination reveals that nothing is physically wrong. Meanwhile, Martin visits Kim at the Murphy family home. She tells him that she loves him and undresses. Martin says that he has to go home and leaves.

The next morning, Martin meets Steven and reveals the truth: his father did not die in the crash but during surgery that Steven himself performed after the accident. Martin blames Steven for his father's death. Martin explains that, to "balance" the act of destroying a family, Steven must kill one of the members of his own. If not, the Murphys will slowly die after four stages; paralysis is the first stage, followed by self-imposed starvation, bleeding from the eyes, and finally death. Steven attempts to dismiss these claims, but later finds that Bob is refusing food. Soon after, Kim collapses during a choir rehearsal at school, her legs now completely numb, and also becomes unwilling to eat.

Kim receives a call from Martin at the hospital. During the conversation, she regains the use of her legs, only to lose mobility again when the connection is broken. This convinces Anna that Martin has the power to follow through on his threats. She visits Martin to ask why she and her children must suffer for Steven's mistakes. Martin halfheartedly laments her concerns, and petulantly claims that "it's the only thing...that's close to justice.” Anna, suspecting that her formerly alcoholic husband may have been drinking on the day of the operation, speaks to Steven's anesthesiologist, Matthew, about the surgery in which Martin's father died. Anna presses Matthew for Martin's father's medical records. Matthew won't hand her the file but reveals that Steven did make an error and had had two drinks before surgery that morning. He reveals this in exchange for Anna masturbating him as payment for the information.

After all tests are exhausted the hospital is at a loss for a solution, so Anna insists the children are transported back home, where they are tube-fed. Steven then kidnaps Martin, brutally beating him and demanding that he reverse the condition of the children. Martin is kept tied up in the basement and warns Steven that time is running out.

Kim and Bob argue over who their father will choose. Anna claims that killing one of the children is clearly the only option. Attempting to reach a decision, Steven meets with the school principal and questions which of his children is most academically gifted, but the principal does not give a clear answer. Kim drags herself to the basement and attempts to persuade Martin to heal her legs again so they may elope together; when unsuccessful, she attempts to save herself by escaping and crawling through the neighborhood. Steven and Anna retrieve her. As Steven disinfects her wounds, Kim tells him how much she loves him and volunteers to be the one to die. Later that night, Steven stares at his sleeping wife thoughtfully.

The next morning, Anna releases Martin as holding him captive was no use. Bob begins bleeding from the eyes, causing all to panic. Rather than choose, Steven binds Kim, Bob, and Anna to chairs, covers their heads, and pulls a woolen hat over his own face. He loads a rifle, spins in circles, and fires recklessly. The first two shots miss, but the third kills Bob.

Some time later, the family visits the same diner where Steven met with Martin; Kim has fully recovered from her paralysis. Martin enters and stares at them; he and the family briefly lock eyes. As the Murphys leave, Martin gazes after them in a befuddled state, and Kim turns to look back at Martin in disgust as she leaves.

• Colin Farrell as Steven Murphy
• Nicole Kidman as Anna Murphy
• Barry Keoghan as Martin Lang
• Raffey Cassidy as Kim Murphy
• Sunny Suljic as Bob Murphy
• Alicia Silverstone as Martin's mother
• Bill Camp as Matthew

On May 11, 2016, it was announced that Colin Farrell had been cast in the film, with Yorgos Lanthimos directing from a screenplay he had written with Efthymis Filipou. Film4 Productions and Element Pictures produced the project.[4] In June 2016, Nicole Kidman was cast in the film,[5] and in August 2016, Alicia Silverstone, Raffey Cassidy, Bill Camp, Barry Keoghan, and Sunny Suljic also joined.[6]

In May 2016, A24 acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film.[9] The same month, Haut et Court acquired French rights.[10] It had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2017.[11][12][13] Lanthimos and Filippou won the Best Screenplay award at the festival.[14]

The film was theatrically released in the United States on 20 October 2017[15][16] and in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 3 November 2017.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Killing of a Sacred Deer.

• The Killing of a Sacred Deer at IMDb 
• The Killing of a Sacred Deer at Box Office Mojo
• The Killing of a Sacred Deer at AllMovie