Prepare to have your stomach rumbling by the end of this one.
The Menu is a new horror/dark comedy film directed by Mark Mylod. It stars Ralph Fiennes, Anya-Taylor Joy, Nicholas Hoult, Hong Chau, and John Leguizamo. The plot revolves around Margot and Tyler traveling to a private island with a group of rich people to eat at an exquisite restaurant. Once there though they realize that the head chef has malicious intentions.
There is so much to love about this movie. There are many of us who have hobbies and talents. Some of us turn those crafts into careers and creative choices. We long to perfect the craft and we strive to become better. When is too much though? When does the pressure of perfection or the pressure of a job become so much that we lose love for something that once meant everything to us? The Menu is very relatable to anyone who has ever felt that pressure and the lack of gratitude that sometimes comes with it.
The movie has a strong theme of obsession as well as how dangerous it can be. When someone becomes obsessed about one thing it can lead to other important things being pushed into the background. The film portrays all these themes very well and it is a well acted tense filled ride.
Ralph Fiennes is fantastic as the head chef. He delivers such a scary yet sympathetic performance. In every scene that he is in, he has such a commanding presence and you can’t take your eyes off of him. Anya Taylor-Joy seems to be in everything these days and she should be. She is such a strong piece to this story and I can definitely see her winning an Oscar one day.
I also want to give credit to Hong Chau who plays Elsa. She is basically the right-hand man to the head chef and she is just perfect in this role. She can be inviting and intimidating at the same time. She is to appear in The Whale which comes out later this year and I look forward to seeing more of her.
This is a mean movie and I mean that in the best way possible. It does not shy away from the hard honest conversations and the commentary that the movie is going for. It knows when to make you feel tense and it knows when to make you laugh.
The script is phenomenal and it is shot so beautifully. Every time food is being prepared my mouth was watering. I never have been so interested in the creation of food.
It is difficult to really talk about the movie without giving away spoilers so do yourself a favor and check it out as soon as possible.
Overall, The Menu is a well-acted and entertaining horror film. It is one of Ralph Fiennes’s best performances and the care that went into this movie is very apparent. 2022 has been a great year for horror and The Menu is in my opinion among the best.
The Menu is out now in theatres.
