Everything is more than a little off-kilter in this world. By putting the subjects of conversations and many actions absurdly outside of the social norm, Lanthimos succeeds in creating a sense of unease in the viewer, and in making banal content feel forbidden. There are obsessive, repetitive discussions of trivialities like the preferred sort of watchband, or the appropriate quantity of body hair.

In the most perverse sense, Lanthimos films are comedies. In his films, laughter is generated by the transgression of the rules of behavior, language, and custom. An off-the-wall disregard for any norms results in a crazily absurd world where everything is backwards. Funny-strange becomes funny. In that way, Lanthimos violates his own cockeyed rules with “The Killing of a Sacred Deer.” It’s a far grimmer film than he has made in the past, with the heaviness of torture and violence. Just when you think he’s gone the limit with violations, he steps over one more line.