Yorgos Lanthimos isn't bothered if people call 'Killing of a Sacred Deer' "disturbing".

Yorgos Lanthimos

Yorgos Lanthimos

The 44-year-old filmmaker helmed the new psychological thriller starring Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman, but admitted he finds it strange that people are "shocked about certain things" in the plot and has problem with people dubbing his latest movie "disturbing".

Speaking to Sky News, Lanthimos said: "I do find it strange that we're so shocked about certain things and we find certain things so taboo, and we refrain from talking about them or thinking about them or exposing them more often in art or in entertainment.

"That's why we made this film, you need to be at least puzzled or disturbed because you realise that you can not necessarily give an answer to a certain question and you're not sure about where you place yourself in such a dilemma, or you can't understand it.

"So yeah, I guess disturbing is good."

'The Killing of a Sacred Deer' follows the story of Steven Murphy (Farrell) and his family who has been accused of killing a patient on the operating table.

But he has to make a big sacrifice when the behaviour of a teenage boy, who he has taken under his wing, starts to turn sinister.

Farrell stars alongside Kidman, who portrays Steven's wife Anna, in the movie, and the Oscar winner recently admitted that it was one of the strangest films she has ever worked on.

The actor also revealed that he got depressed while filming the psychological horror.

He said: "But, honest to God, by the end of this film I was down. Part of that was to do with the beard. Some people love beards, for sure, but it really weighed me down. But mostly it was the tone of the film. It's just bleak to its core.

"Yorgos thinks it's a comedy, that this is his 'Anchorman'. I beg to differ."