Where to watch: Tubi, Pluto, Plex
Content warning: violence, sexual situations, revenge
Ratings (out of 5)
Jump scares: no
Blood:🩸
Psychological & Suspense: 💀💀💀
Grief: 💧💧💧💧💧
Overall😱😱😱😱
Non Spoiler Synopsis: Dr. Steve Murphy and his family befriend a young man who was the son of one of Steve’s patients.
Worth the Watch?
For me, this was one of those films that stuck with me days after I watched it. I thought about the characters, I thought about what I would do. I thought about our trust in the medical community and the fear that comes with trusting someone with your life. Killing of a Scared Deer was released in 2017, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. And written by Yorgos Lanthimos and Ethics Flippou. The movie explores themes of grief and revenge, two of my favorite themes in horror movies. This movie isn’t your traditional horror movie. It’s not full of blood or horny teenagers. Instead, this movie involves a family and the choices they are forced to make. The music score adds to the movie and could be considered its own character.
This movie is definitely worth watching, and I will watch it again, which says a lot to me. I do not often rewatch movies; this one feels like one of those movies you must rewatch to catch nuances you missed the first time.
Spoilers ahead-read with caution
Dr. Steven Murphy finds himself meetings with a young man named Martin, whose father was once under Steven's care and met a tragic end on the operating table. Seeking retribution, Martin embarks on a mission of vengeance, advocating for the ancient principle of "an eye for an eye." Employing mysterious methods, possibly rooted in the supernatural though left undisclosed in the film, Martin curses Steven's family.
First, he afflicts Steven's son with a debilitating illness, forewarning Steven of a grim progression: first the loss of mobility, then appetite, and ultimately, the horrifying prospect of bleeding eyes, signaling the approaching end. Adding to the turmoil, Martin, romantically entangled with Steven's daughter, Kim, also subjects her to the same affliction.
In a chilling ultimatum, Martin informs Steven that his wife will inevitably fall victim to the same fate, forcing Steven to confront an unimaginable choice: sacrifice one family member to save another.
Initially skeptical, Steven dismisses Martin's ominous warnings, desperately seeking conventional medical solutions for his son's mysterious illness. But as both children succumb to the inexplicable ailment without hope of a cure, Steven and Anna retreat with their afflicted offspring to the safety of their home. Meanwhile, Kim remains entangled with Martin, displaying a peculiar empathy toward him, suggesting an intuitive grasp of the unfolding tragedy.
Steven confronts Martin violently, confining him to the depths of their home's basement. In a surprising turn, Anna extends a gesture of compassion, tending to Martin's injuries and beseeching him for absolution. Eventually, she releases him from his captivity.
With the weight of an impossible decision bearing down on him, Steven finds himself immobilized by indecision. In a harrowing climax, he resorts to a chilling act of desperation, binding his family and obscuring their identities with pillowcases. Blinded by a mix of anguish and determination, Steven spins wildly with a gun in hand until tragedy strikes, leading to the unthinkable sacrifice of his own son.
The film reaches its haunting conclusion when Martin encounters the family at the diner, where his entanglement with Steven begins, leaving audiences to grapple with the lingering aftermath of his unsettling vendetta.
At its core, this film delves deeply into the theme of grief. In the aftermath of a traumatic death, especially one marked by suddenness and violence, the natural human response is to seek justice. We yearn to restore order in a world that has been shattered by tragedy. The shock of such a loss rattles us as we grapple with the incomprehensible.
For Martin, this grief is intensely personal. His father's sudden demise at the hands of a surgeon impaired by alcohol thrusts him into a whirlwind of emotions. Driven by a profound sense of injustice, Martin demands retribution, clinging to the age-old principle of "an eye for an eye." In his eyes, it's only just that Steven, the surgeon responsible for his father's death, faces consequences equal to the pain inflicted upon him.
Steven and Anna find themselves grappling with anticipatory grief, a poignant agony that accompanies the grim realization of their children's impending demise and, for Anna, her own mortality. The illness afflicting Bob serves as a haunting harbinger of what awaits their daughter and, eventually, Anna herself.
As physicians, Steven and Anna instinctively turn to their professional expertise in the face of this looming tragedy. Like many confronted with mortality, they embark on a desperate quest for medical intervention, tirelessly seeking both cause and cure. In a society that champions the Lazarus Effect—the fervent belief in the power to conquer death—they are emblematic of a culture conditioned to fight relentlessly against the inevitability of mortality.
Yet amidst the frantic struggle for a remedy, it is Anna who ultimately comes to terms with their reality, embracing the sobering truth that death cannot always be thwarted. Anticipatory grief, a tumultuous journey of conflicting emotions, unfolds as they grapple with the agonizing dichotomy of yearning for the reprieve from suffering while dreading the impending loss of their loved ones.
***end spoilers**
Dive Deeper:
Traumatic grief is the grief that is experienced when someone dies suddenly and often violently. Martin’s grief can be seen as traumatic, as his father died suddenly.
Steven, Anna, Bob, and Kim are experiencing anticipatory grief as they know someone is going to die. We can see the powerlessness that Steven and Anna wrestle with and how they come to terms with what is happening to their family.
Please note these are suggestions, and grief cannot be rushed; it is a process. Participating in therapy can be vital to your grief journey.
When we experience traumatic grief, we need time to digest what has happened. Like Martin, we may seek retribution or additional information to understand what happened.
It is important with traumatic grief to participate in rituals, like funerals, wakes, shiva, death anniversaries, birthdays, and other events that connect us with the deceased. When we experience traumatic grief, we seek to make meaning of what happened. Can you tell the story from several viewpoints (factual, participates, from your loved ones’ eyes)? Other times, we seek to live a life that makes meaning out of their death; we champion causes that are related to their death, such as ending gun violence and advocating for sobriety when driving.
Antpatiory grief can swallow us. We are caught in the turbulence of walking on the edge of life and death. When in the waves of anticipatory grief, it is necessary to tend to your basic needs, eating, sleeping, and exercising. To do things for yourself, especially if you are a caretaker, we can lose ourselves in caretaking for a dying loved one. Seek supportive friends, family, and therapy.
Want more?
Killing of a Sacred Deer is a psychological film with heavy grief themes.
If you are a fan of Yorgos Lanthimos, you might enjoy Poor Things, The Lobster, or Dogtooth (I have yet to watch any of these, so watch at your own risk and let me know you think if you watch any of them).
If you are a fan of psychology movies and Barry Keoghan, you’ll like Saltburn.
Collin Ferrell fan? Try Fright Night (it’s a great vampire flick)
Nicole Kidman? Watch the Others.
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Is there a movie you’d love to discuss or want me to review, please comment.
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