The Killing of a Sacred Deer
A24 | Release Date: October 20, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
73
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 45 Critic Reviews
Positive:
36
Mixed:
7
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
SlateSam AdamsOct 20, 2017
The whole movie starts to feel like a dare or elaborate game, the characters shuffling obediently about the board with no rules to guide them. Myths grow out of a need to understand the world, and to pass on an understanding of how to make our way through it, but Lanthimos just teaches you to be more cautious about his next film. Read full review
60
The New York TimesA.O. ScottOct 19, 2017
“Sacred Deer” feels like a dark, opaque bit of folklore transplanted into an off-kilter modern setting. Read full review
60
Time Out LondonDave CalhounMay 24, 2017
As storytelling, it’s pristine: it moves like a reptile playing the long game. But its cruelty is tough to bear. Read full review
58
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallNov 9, 2017
The third act sustains a fevered level of absurdity and everything prior is stylish, well-acted yet off-putting.Art without any noticeable heart. Read full review
50
Philadelphia Daily NewsGary ThompsonNov 2, 2017
Lanthimos is not Euripides, and not capable of — or interested in — staging a tragedy. And his aim to make something horrifying or at least excruciating out of this scenario gets lost in the iciness of the presentation. Read full review
50
The New YorkerAnthony LaneOct 23, 2017
If “The Lobster” remains Lanthimos’s most vital work, that’s because it tempers the gloom with a mischievous play of wit. The Killing of a Sacred Deer, by contrast, is stubbornly hard to enjoy; there are jokes, but they make few dents in the programmatic rigor of the plot. Read full review
42
The Film StageGiovanni Marchini CamiaMay 24, 2017
Even the most generous of viewers couldn’t come up with a legitimate reason for the vileness on show here, other than pure and simple sadism. Read full review
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