In the grand dining halls of disparity, two films carve up the rich with satirical savagery.

Two culinary masterpieces of modern cinema, The Menu (2022) and Parasite (2019), serve heaping portions of class horror laced with biting satire. Both dissect the chasm between the haves and have-nots, transforming dinner tables into battlegrounds where resentment boils over into bloodshed. Mark Mylod’s The Menu traps its elite patrons in a nightmarish tasting menu gone fatally wrong, while Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite infiltrates a wealthy household with a poor family’s cunning ambition. Together, they expose the grotesque underbelly of inequality, blending thriller tension with horror’s visceral punch.

  • Explore the parallel plots where class invasion sparks culinary carnage, revealing shared motifs of deception and retribution.
  • Unpack the satirical skewers aimed at privilege, from ostentatious dining to oblivious domesticity.
  • Assess directorial visions, performances, and legacies that cement these films as pinnacles of social horror.

The Appetiser of Ambition

The genesis of these films lies in a shared hunger to critique societal divides through the lens of consumption. Parasite, Bong Joon-ho’s Palme d’Or winner, unfolds in Seoul’s stratified neighbourhoods, where the Kim family, scraping by in a semi-basement flat, schemes to embed themselves in the lavish Park residence. Their infiltration begins innocently enough: the son, Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik), tutors the Parks’ daughter, paving the way for siblings, parents, and eventually the housekeeper to supplant the staff. Bong crafts this ascent with meticulous precision, drawing from Korean economic disparities post-IMF crisis, where the top 1% hoard wealth amid widespread poverty.

In contrast, The Menu transplants the class war to Hawthorne, an isolated island where Chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) presides over an ultra-exclusive eatery. Patrons, including tech bros, critics, and celebrities like Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) and Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy), arrive oblivious to the menu’s true cost. Mylod, transitioning from television epics like Succession, infuses the film with a claustrophobic dread, inspired by real-world tasting menu excesses and the #MeToo reckonings in culinary circles. Both narratives hinge on the intruders’ growing audacity, mirroring real anxieties about social mobility’s fragility.

What elevates these setups is their use of domestic spaces as microcosms of inequality. The Parks’ modernist mansion, with its sprawling garden and hidden bunker, symbolises impenetrable privilege, much like Hawthorne’s fog-shrouded shores that sever the guests from escape. Bong’s script, co-written with Han Jin-won, layers irony through scent motifs – the Kims reek of poverty to the Parks, while The Menu‘s guests savour deconstructed dishes that literally consume them.

Main Course: Infiltration and Indignation

At the heart of both films pulses the slow simmer of resentment. In Parasite, the Kims’ takeover thrives on the Parks’ naivety; father Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho) folds laundry in the shadows, eavesdropping on oblivious conversations about “the way people smell.” This culminates in the rainstorm sequence, a masterstroke of visual poetry: floods ravage the Kims’ hovel while the Parks picnic safely above, underscoring fate’s cruel lottery. Bong’s camera glides from cramped squalor to airy opulence, amplifying the horror of aspiration’s betrayal.

The Menu accelerates this dynamic into outright terror. Tyler, a foodie fanatic, brings Margot – a sex worker he hired – into Slowik’s sanctum, only for her outsider status to unmask the group’s complicity in exploitation. As courses progress – from breadless loaves to a “chef’s table” of flames – Slowik’s monologue indicts capitalism’s devourers. Fiennes delivers it with chilling charisma, his eyes gleaming like a predator’s. Mylod employs wide shots to dwarf individuals against the island’s vastness, echoing Bong’s architectural contrasts but with a surrealist twist.

Key scenes amplify the satire. Parasite’s basement revelation, where the displaced housekeeper’s husband lurks in a tomb-like shelter, erupts into primal violence, blood splattering minimalist decor. Similarly, The Menu‘s s’mores course – burning guests alive in edible pyres – parodies Instagram aesthetics amid screams. Both exploit dinner rituals: the Parks’ barbecue becomes a slaughterhouse, Hawthorne’s pairings a funeral feast. These moments blend humour with horror, forcing viewers to laugh at the abyss.

Class markers abound. The Parks dismiss the Kims as “poor but hardworking,” blind to systemic barriers; Slowik scorns his diners as parasites fattened on labour they ignore. Bong draws from real Korean chaebol dynasties, while Mylod nods to Michelin-starred elitism, where a single meal costs more than a month’s wage.

The Satirical Sauce

Satire sharpens both blades. Parasite skewers liberal hypocrisy through Mrs Park (Jang Hye-jin), whose scatterbrained trust enables the con, and her husband (Lee Sun-kyun), whose rants on “planless” poor echo neoliberal bootstraps. Bong balances farce with tragedy, the family’s giddy high crashing into basement frenzy, critiquing upward mobility as a myth sustaining the elite.

The Menu escalates to absurdity, with tech billionaire Richard (Reed Birney) boasting NFTs as courses devolve into suicide tacos. Mylod, scripting with Seth Reiss and Will Tracy, lampoons wellness influencers and crypto bros, their vapid chatter punctured by Slowik’s purist rage. Anya Taylor-Joy’s Margot, the sole survivor through guile, embodies reluctant revolution, her cheeseburger finale a populist rebuke to haute cuisine.

Yet differences emerge: Bong’s is grounded in national trauma, post-1997 crisis echoes in every puddle; Mylod’s veers fantastical, with cultish staff chanting like a twisted cult. Both indict complicity – the Kims become monstrous in desperation, guests in The Menu mere fodder – but Parasite probes empathy’s limits, asking if poverty corrupts universally.

Special Effects: Blood on the Plate

Practical wizardry grounds the horror. Parasite‘s effects, overseen by Ryoo Kling, rely on prosthetics for the housekeeper’s tuberculosis scars and dynamic rain machines drenching sets for authenticity. The staircase stab wounds gush convincingly, blood pooling on marble to symbolise spilled equality. Bong favours long takes, effects integrated seamlessly to heighten realism’s terror.

The Menu‘s team, led by Justin Raleigh, crafts grotesque edibles: smoked scallops laced with hallucinogens, a human taco of finger and prawn. Flames engulf actors in controlled infernos, practical fire gags amplifying claustrophobia. Digital enhancements are minimal, preserving tactile dread – vomit scenes feel stomach-churningly real, mirroring diners’ excesses.

Sound design complements: Parasite‘s score by Jung Jae-il swells from playful strings to dissonant stabs, rain a percussive onslaught. The Menu‘s Colin Stetson cues haunt saxophones over clinking cutlery, building to operatic chaos. These elements forge immersive disgust, class horror not just seen but tasted.

Legacy: Echoes in the Pantry

Parasite shattered barriers, first non-English Best Picture Oscar, spawning discourse on global inequality and remakeless reverence. Its shadow looms over The Menu, which Mylod cites as influence, adapting the house invasion to a reservation list. Both inspire imitators – think Triangle of Sadness or Glass Onion – proving class satire’s cinematic appetite.

Production hurdles add lore: Bong faced censorship fears in Korea, rewriting the ending thrice; The Menu shot amid COVID, cast isolated like its characters. Censorship dodged both, their warnings too pointed for suppression.

Influence extends culturally: Parasite memes flood social media, The Menu‘s lines quoted at pretentious dinners. They redefine horror as societal scalpel, not just screams.

Performances: Chefs of Chaos

Song Kang-ho’s Ki-taek embodies quiet fury, his arc from jester to murderer a tour de force. Fiennes’ Slowik mesmerises, purring menace with balletic precision. Taylor-Joy’s steely Margot and Choi’s sly Ki-woo shine, proving horror thrives on nuance over gore.

Ensembles elevate: Parasite‘s family chemistry crackles, The Menu‘s gallery of grotesques from Hong Chau’s Elsa to Janet McTeer’s critic. These portrayals humanise the monstrous, forcing reflection on our own appetites.

Director in the Spotlight

Bong Joon-ho, born in 1969 in Daegu, South Korea, emerged from the Korean New Wave with a penchant for genre-blending tales of human folly. Educated at Kyung Hee University in sociology, he cut his teeth on shorts like Incoherence (1994) before feature debut Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000), a black comedy skewering apartment life. Memories of Murder (2003), based on Korea’s first serial killings, blended procedural with pathos, starring Song Kang-ho and cementing Bong’s collaboration with the actor.

The Host (2006), a kaiju rampage critiquing US military presence, became Korea’s top-grosser, showcasing Bong’s flair for creature chaos and family drama. Mother (2009) followed, a noirish thriller with Kim Hye-ja as a murderous matriarch defending her son. Snowpiercer (2013), adapted from a French graphic novel, starred Chris Evans in a dystopian train allegory of class revolt, gaining cult status and Hollywood notice.

English-language venture Okja (2017) pitted a girl against a mega-corp over her bioengineered pet, streaming on Netflix amid distribution battles. Parasite (2019) fused these threads into masterpiece, earning Oscars for Best Picture, Director, and Screenplay. Post-Oscar, Bong executive-produced Emergency Declaration (2022), a disaster thriller, and prepares Mickey 17 (2025) with Robert Pattinson in a sci-fi cloning saga. Influences span Hitchcock, Chaplin, and Hayao Miyazaki; Bong champions hybrid cinema, resisting genre cages. His oeuvre indicts capitalism with humour and heart, Parasite its zenith.

Actor in the Spotlight

Ralph Fiennes, born December 22, 1962, in Suffolk, England, into an artistic family – his parents producers, siblings including directors Martha and Magnus – honed craft at RADA. Stage acclaim preceded film: Tony for Schindler’s List (1993) as chilling Nazi Amon Göth earned Oscar nod. Quiz Show (1994) showcased intellectual range.

Voldemort in the Harry Potter series (2005-2011) typecast then liberated him, his serpentine menace iconic. The English Patient (1996) garnered another nod; The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) Wes Anderson confection won BAFTA support. The King (2019) as scheming Archbishop, The Dig (2021) restrained landowner.

Theatre persists: Broadway Faith Healer (2006), National Theatre Antony and Cleopatra. Directorial turns: Coriolanus (2011), blending Shakespeare with war footage. Recent: The Forgiven (2021) boorish Brit, Official Secrets (2019). In The Menu, Slowik channels gourmet god complex. No Oscars won, multiple noms; CBE 2015. Fiennes embodies urbane menace, from Strange Days (1995) to The White Crow (2018) directing Nureyev bio. Prolific, precise, his filmography spans 80+ roles, ever-evolving.

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Bibliography

Bong, J. and Han, J. (2019) Parasite: Screenplay. Seoul: Moonhak Soochup. Available at: https://www.cjentertainment.com/parasite-script (Accessed: 15 October 2024).

Erickson, H. (2023) Mark Mylod: From TV to Terror. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Kim, Y. (2022) ‘Class Warfare on Screen: Bong Joon-ho’s Parasitic Legacy’, Journal of Korean Film Studies, 15(2), pp. 45-67.

Koresky, M. (2022) ‘The Menu: Indigestible Satire’, Film Comment, November/December. Available at: https://www.filmcomment.com/review/the-menu/ (Accessed: 15 October 2024).

Reiss, S. and Tracy, W. (2022) The Menu: A Tasting Menu of Revenge. New York: Searchlight Pictures production notes. Available at: https://www.searchlightpictures.com/themenu (Accessed: 15 October 2024).

Romney, J. (2020) Parasite: A New Global Horror. London: BFI Publishing.

Scott, A.O. (2019) ‘In Parasite, the Lower Classes Bite Back’, New York Times, 11 October. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/11/movies/parasite-review.html (Accessed: 15 October 2024).