Movies

‘The Killing of a Sacred Deer’ Trailer: A Chilling, Paralyzing Experience

It’s unique for a trailer to create a sense of paralysis like this.
Sacred Deer
By  · Published on August 16th, 2017

It’s unique for a trailer to create a sense of paralysis like this.

If Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Killing of a Sacred Deer were just its previously released poster, upon which we are shown that Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman are in a movie that takes place in a hospital, that might be enough. Lanthimos’ previous film, The Lobster, was an exceptional, strange, moody rumination on loneliness and love. For me personally — and I’m sure some of you, as well — it was good enough to take a chance on just about anything he wanted to deliver next.

Now we have a trailer for Sacred Deer and its fate is sealed among the pantheon of highly anticipated 2017 releases:

That’s a hell of an atmospheric trailer. It builds significant tension and remains obtuse enough to create an artful salivation for its audience.

If you need more of a hard sell, here’s what Vulture’s Emily Yoshida had to say in her review from Cannes: “…at a certain point in Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Killing of a Sacred Deer it’s abundantly clear that the artful thriller you’re watching has actually been a full-throated horror movie all along. In the tradition of Ringu or the Final Destination films, it first tells you what dreadful fate awaits its characters, then lets you spend the rest of the film agonizing over when it will go down. That’s why, about midway through the film, during a stark wide shot, I found myself nearly covering my eyes in anguished terror when it seemed like a teenage girl was about to collapse on the floor.”

Okay, I’ve seen enough. I’m ready for October 27, when The Killing of a Sacred Deer makes its way into theaters.

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Neil Miller is the persistently-bearded Publisher of Film School Rejects, Nonfics, and One Perfect Shot. He's also the Executive Producer of the One Perfect Shot TV show (currently streaming on HBO Max) and the co-host of Trial By Content on The Ringer Podcast Network. He can be found on Twitter here: @rejects (He/Him)