Rewatched Thoroughbreds, and enjoyed it about as much as I did the last time, while reaffirming why this film has stuck around in my head for so long
But first, a little about my taste, because CoolCly and Snake pointed out, I have an odd particular taste that comes through a little in the movies I pick. There's something so special to be said for movies that are just slightly off. Perhaps my favorite, dreafully underused subgenre of film is the magical realism, where the film follows the natural logic of the world, except for once in a while where it just doesn't anymore. Often movies push this farther and end up in sci-fi or fantasy or surreal horror, which are all excellent, but movies like The Killing of a Sacred Deer that manage to find that balance almost always managed to earn a spot in the back of my mind where they will remain forever. Movies like this, even if not objectively perfect, still manage to be the movies I remember most and hold most deer, even moreso than movies I might've liked more.
As for Thoroughbreds, while there's nothing inherently "magical" about Thoroughbreds, there is that endlessly intriguing sense of something being off. And while it's easy to just put that onto Amanda, the girl who can't feel emotions (hell, Amanda seems to want that put onto her, because it's the easiest explanation), it's so much more than that. Before she explains her situation, the viewer already knows about that offness. It's in the excellent camera angles; shots that are perfectly balanced to the point that it's uncomfortable and shots that are just ever so slightly skewed in moments of privacy
vs
You hear it in the music, plucky and unbalanced and unconventional, telling you that this is a terrifying scenario before the plot has given you any reason to believe that.
Really this is an incredibly crafted experience directed by someone with no directorial experience. The lighting and camerawork feel like they're done by a pro, and the relationship between Lily and Amanda is one of my all-time favorites. There are little things that keep this from being as perfect a movie as it wants to be; the plot meanders for a while, Anton Yelchin's character development and involvement in the plot are barebones, particularly compared to the main two, to the point that they feel more like a distraction. Despite its flaws, I adore this movie for its characterization and atmosphere much more than most.
9/10
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