The First Trailer for Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Killing of a Sacred Deer Will Stop You in Your Tracks

Sacred Deer reunites Lanthimos with Farrell, who also starred in the director’s disturbing but brilliant dark comedy The Lobster, one of the best movies of 2016. Lanthimos directed both films from scripts he cowrote alongside Efthymis Filippou, with whom he penned his last three features. Lanthimos has an incredibly distinctive style, and the Sacred Deer trailer has us excited for more of his off-kilter artistry.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer was shot in Cincinnati, Ohio, last summer and debuted at Cannes earlier this year, where it tied for the best screenplay award. The film comes to select theaters on Oct. 27. Watch the first trailer above, and see the film’s full synopsis and striking poster below.

Steven (Colin Farrell), an eminent cardiothoracic surgeon is married to Anna (Nicole Kidman), a respected ophthalmologist. They are well off and live a happy and healthy family life with their two children, Kim, 14 (Raffey Cassidy) and Bob, 12 (Sunny Suljic). Steven has formed a friendship with Martin (Barry Keoghan), a fatherless 16 year-old boy whom he has taken under his wing. Things take a sinister turn when Steven introduces Martin to his family, gradually throwing their world into turmoil and forcing Steven to make a shocking sacrifice or run the risk of losing everything.