definitely the most ambitious lanthimos yet, this is a wonderfully chilling tale of surreal revenge. his dark twisted humour is still on full show here ("DAD! COME QUICK! BOB'S DYING!") and got quite a few laughs from the audience.

out of the three lanthimos films i've seen, this definitely veers the closest to all-out horror, crafting a suburban dreamscape where the scariest monster is total loss of control (i heard someone compare it to the shining, which is pretty apt). i loved the use of gore, from THAT opening shot to what's either the best or worst use of a metaphor in recent film history.

colin farrell is, once again, fantastic with lanthimos-style dialogue - his performance is just as delightful to watch as it was in the lobster and now i've really got my hopes up for another farrell/lanthimos collab. nicole kidman is nicole kidman, meaning that she manages to act while tied up with a pillowcase on her head and is magical throughout. the casting for this film really is fantastic; the child actors embody their roles perfectly, with barry keoghan putting on an impressively creepy performance.

like all lanthimos films, the killing of a sacred deer balances precariously on the thin line between sense and senselessness. it's a lot of fun when it leans towards senselessness, while also continuing the exploration of parental control that was so central to dogtooth. its interest in constructing a world obsessed with senseless yet rigid rules and sudden physical transformations unfolds into an queasy tour of the uncanny, and the surprises never stop coming.

i wasn't all that sure about this film when the credits started rolling, but it's rapidly growing on me - it contains multitudes beneath its glossy surface, and i already can't wait to rewatch it.