Director Yorgos Lanthimos's characters tend to find themselves in harsh, bizarre worlds, confronted with impossible decisions like how to raise their children under a strict set of weird rules (Dogtooth) or choosing a good animal to turn into if they don't find love (The Lobster). In his latest thriller, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Lanthimos is sticking to that dark formula, chronicling the life of a surgeon whose shady past winds up putting his family at risk.In the first trailer from A24, we meet Steven (Colin Farrell), a terse heart surgeon and former alcoholic, and his seemingly normal family: wife Anna (Nicole Kidman), 14-year-old daughter Kim (Raffey Cassidy), and 12-year-old son Bob (Sunny Suljic). There's also Martin (Barry Keoghan), a young kid who hangs around with the surgeon and his daughter, Kim, as, one by one, each member of Steven's family comes down with a strange illness that leaves them partially paralyzed.The trailer is filled with disturbing shots of Anna, Kim, and Bob collapsing to the ground—slamming their heads on concrete floors, being dragged down a hospital hallway, and pulling themselves by their hands through rooms. According to Vulture, they've all fallen victim to a bizarre curse brought on by the revenge-seeking Martin and will eventually suffer a horrifying death.The Killing of a Sacred Deer won best screenplay at Cannes and has been lauded as a "brilliant," "hypnotic" look at guilt and retribution. If you're OK with the prospect of getting freaked the hell out, give the trailer a watch above.The Killing of a Sacred Deer hits theaters on October 27.
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