Cert 15 121mins Stars 4

Colin Farrell’s is cut to the quick in this off-kilter horror thriller which beats with a unique sinister power.

The Irishman stars as a heart surgeon whose past failings return to punish him. He’s forced into choosing to kill a member of his family or see them all dying in excruciating ways.

Greek writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos teased out the best in Farrell in 2015’s dark satire The Lobster and repeats the trick here.  

While vigorously flexing his acting muscles, Farrell’s actual muscles are protected by the flab of middle age. This something can’t be said of his co-star. 

In an eye-opening bedroom scene Nicole Kidman reveals a lack of modesty and a rigid personal fitness regime.

A growing sense of anxiety is fuelled by the unsettling score and clinically precise camerawork makes this is a very difficult watch.

Plus it’s probably the most shocking big screen killing of a sacred deer since Walt Disney’s Bambi.