Oh, this story, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, it’s strange and unsettling, like something you’d hear from a wild nightmare. Now, in the movie, there’s this heart doctor, Steven, who seems all smart and all, but he gets tangled up with this boy named Martin. And what a mess it becomes! Folks are left wondering about the “poison” — just what kind of nasty thing it is, and how it gets to Steven’s family. It’s not your regular kind of poison from the kitchen, no. This one is different, mysterious, like something only fate or a curse could bring.
Now, Martin isn’t just any boy. He’s got a grudge, and it’s real deep. You see, Steven, he did surgery on Martin’s father some years back, but the man didn’t make it. Seems Martin’s dad’s death just didn’t sit right with the boy. So, Martin thinks Steven’s gotta pay, but he doesn’t just yell or scream — no, no. Martin decides Steven’s family should feel his pain, and he does it in a way that doesn’t need poison bottles or anything you’d expect. No, Martin’s way is different.
The so-called “poison” is like a curse on Steven’s family. Each member gets sicker and sicker, but it’s not a regular sickness. First, they can’t move their legs — their bodies just give out, like someone yanked the power cord. Then, they get so weak they can barely eat, until finally, they start bleeding from their eyes. And that’s just the beginning! If Steven doesn’t do something quick, they’ll all die, one by one.
But here’s the kicker: Martin tells Steven, plain and simple, if he doesn’t pick one family member to die, then every last one of them will suffer. That’s where the “poison” really gets its meaning. It’s not something they drank or swallowed, but it’s like a creeping guilt, a moral poison, if you will. Steven, he’s trapped by his own guilt for what happened to Martin’s dad, and now that guilt is eating away at his family, like some slow-acting poison.
The twist here is the choice Martin forces on him. It’s cruel, cruel as anything. Steven has to pick one family member to die, or they’ll all go down. This poison isn’t in a bottle; it’s like a punishment sent from fate itself. Martin’s not saying it’s revenge or justice in any straightforward way; it’s just the consequence, like a curse Steven can’t escape. The only “cure,” so to speak, is for Steven to make a horrible decision.
In the end, Steven does what no parent would ever want to do. He gathers his family — his wife Anna and his two kids, Kim and Bob — in the living room. Then he spins around with his eyes covered, a gun in his hand, and fires, leaving it up to chance who’ll get hit. It’s like he’s leaving it to fate, just like Martin’s “poison” was some kind of twisted fate. The shot rings out, and poor Bob, his young son, is the one who gets hit. It’s the kind of horror that sticks with you, making you wonder if it was the only way or just a terrible, twisted game of fate.
So, when folks talk about the “poison” in The Killing of a Sacred Deer, they aren’t talking about anything simple. It’s not something you can pick up and throw away; it’s a heavy, unseen weight. Martin’s curse doesn’t come from any science or potion — it comes from the family’s past, from the choices Steven made and the guilt he carries. This poison is like a creeping shadow over them, slowly squeezing the life out of each of them, until Steven has to make the worst choice of all.
At the end of it, you’re left wondering: was the poison real, or was it just Steven’s own guilt, brought to life by Martin’s curse? Either way, the family is broken, and nothing can fix that. It’s a story that makes you think about how our own actions can come back, years later, like a shadow that never really goes away. And that, right there, is the true poison in this dark, unsettling tale.
Tags：[The Killing of a Sacred Deer, movie poison, Martin’s curse, movie ending explained, psychological thriller]
