In the exclusive enclave of Hawthorn restaurant, one tasting menu becomes the ultimate indictment of gluttony and privilege.

Anya Taylor-Joy and Ralph Fiennes star in a culinary nightmare that skewers the pretensions of the ultra-wealthy with razor-sharp wit and mounting dread.

  • The Menu masterfully blends black comedy with horror to expose class divides through a deadly dinner service.
  • Director Mark Mylod elevates satire via meticulous tension-building and stellar ensemble performances.
  • Ralph Fiennes delivers a career-defining turn as a chef whose vengeance tastes like revolution.

The Menu’s Fatal Feast: Satire Sliced Thin

A Reservation for Ruin

The film opens with a ferry gliding towards a remote island, ferrying an assortment of affluent diners to Hawthorn, an ultra-exclusive restaurant presided over by the enigmatic Chef Julian Slowik. Tyler Ledford, played with fervent obsession by Nicholas Hoult, has orchestrated this pilgrimage for his date Margot, portrayed by Anya Taylor-Joy with a street-smart wariness that sets her apart from the crowd. The guests include a faded food critic and her editor, tech billionaires spouting jargon, a faded movie star with her personal assistant, and a posse of finance bros. From the outset, the atmosphere crackles with unease: staff members greet arrivals with unnerving precision, and the island’s isolation underscores the inescapable trap closing around them.

As the evening unfolds, courses arrive with theatrical flair, each one a conceptual masterpiece laced with menace. The first, a “bread plate” deconstructing its titular item into soil-like mousse and ink-black ink, elicits puzzled admiration. But revelations build: the staff’s robotic devotion hints at coercion, and Slowik’s monologues reveal his growing disdain for an industry corrupted by Instagram influencers and Michelin-star chasers. Margot, no stranger to survival having worked as an escort under the alias Erin, senses the peril early. Her outsider status becomes the narrative’s fulcrum, contrasting sharply with Tyler’s insider fanaticism. The script by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy weaves exposition through dialogue, avoiding clunky dumps while layering dread via subtle visual cues like the chef’s piercing gaze and the omnipresent smoke from the kitchen.

Production designer Scott Chambliss crafts Hawthorn as a modernist fortress, all stark concrete and geothermal vents spewing ominous vapour. This environment amplifies the theme of entrapment, mirroring the diners’ gilded cages. Cinematographer Peter Deming employs wide-angle lenses to dwarf characters against vast seascapes, emphasising their insignificance. Sound design, under Ron Bartlett, turns mundane clinks of cutlery into harbingers of doom, with a swelling score by Colin Stetson that mimics the rhythm of a heartbeat accelerating towards catastrophe.

Plating Privilege: The Class Commentary Core

At its heart, the film dissects the chasm between the one per cent and the service class through Slowik’s meticulously planned massacre. Each course targets a archetype of excess: the s’mores for sex workers, evoking commodification; the tech bros’ impending cremation in the form of “Tyler” tacos, punishing disruption of purity. Slowik rails against the democratisation of cuisine via social media, where once-sacred rituals become fodder for likes. This critique resonates in an era where fine dining has ballooned into a status symbol, pricing out all but the elite while staff toil invisibly.

Class warfare manifests viscerally when the chef unmasks his team’s plight: underpaid, overworked, trapped in a cult of personality. Hong Chau’s Elsa, the maitre d’, embodies this rage, her explosion a pivotal release. The film draws parallels to real-world scandals like those in high-end kitchens exposed by documentaries, where abuse festers behind velvet ropes. Margot’s arc, rising from escort to saviour via ingenuity, flips the script on who truly “earns” their place at the table. Her demand for a cheeseburger – simple, honest fare – contrasts the pretentious menu, symbolising reclamation of agency from performative consumption.

Satire bites deepest in scenes lampooning cultural vapidity. The food critic, Janet McTeer, embodies ossified taste-making, her feigned expertise crumbling under scrutiny. Billionaires drone about NFTs while oblivious to doom, a send-up of venture capital hubris. The film avoids preachiness by rooting barbs in character-specific absurdities, allowing horror to underscore the comedy. Influences from Luis Buñuel’s Exterminating Angel, where elites are confined to self-destruct, echo here, updated for Instagram age excesses.

Gender dynamics enrich the commentary: women like Margot and the assistant navigate male-dominated spaces of power and predation. The movie star’s arc, reliant on a sycophantic aide, highlights Hollywood’s enablers. Slowik’s patriarchy, demanding blind loyalty, crumbles when confronted by Margot’s pragmatism. This layer elevates the satire beyond economics to interrogate how privilege perpetuates across intersections.

Kitchen Nightmares Unleashed

Iconic set pieces propel the horror. The “message in a taco” course, where Tyler learns his fate, pivots comedy to terror as flames lick the beach. Slowik’s performance of his own greatest hit, a humiliating reenactment from his early career, humanises the monster while horrifying viewers. Practical effects shine: scorching skin via pyrotechnics, bodily immolations crafted with silicone prosthetics by makeup artist Jason Collins, evoking The Wicker Man‘s ritualistic burns but inverted for consumerist critique.

Mise-en-scène in the dining room, with its central tree of life motif, symbolises Edenic fall through gluttony. Lighting shifts from warm amber to cold blues, tracking descent into hell. Editing by Fiona Ellis maintains pulse-pounding rhythm, cross-cutting between kitchen frenzy and diners’ dawning horror. These techniques, honed in Mylod’s television work, ensure the film’s 107-minute runtime feels taut yet savoury.

Legacy on the Menu

Released amid post-pandemic dining booms, the film tapped cultural nerves, grossing over $80 million on a $30 million budget. Critics praised its prescience; it garnered Oscar nods for screenplay and Fiennes’ supporting turn. Remakes loom unlikely, but its shadow influences satires like Triangle of Sadness, sharing class-skewering DNA. Hawthorn-inspired pop-ups emerged, blending homage with irony, while memes of cheeseburgers flooded social media, proving the film’s point.

The Menu endures as a cautionary dish, reminding that horror thrives when laced with truth. Its blend of laughs, gasps, and gut punches cements status as 2020s essential, challenging viewers to examine their own appetites.

Influence extends to discourse on labour: post-release, chef exposés surged, echoing Slowik’s manifesto. Streaming on platforms like HBO Max amplified reach, sparking think pieces on culinary elitism. For horror aficionados, it bridges Ready or Not‘s family takedown with elevated arthouse dread, carving niche in “elevated horror” pantheon alongside Ari Aster’s works.

Special Effects: Served Sizzling

Effects supervisor Dan Lemmon oversaw pyrotechnics integral to climax, where geothermal ovens claim victims in eruptions of flame and ash. CGI augmented sparingly for distant explosions, prioritising tangible terror. The “body sushi” course used chilled seafood on live models, heightening discomfort through realism. Bloodwork by Kelvin Motors blended corn syrup with practical squibs, ensuring visceral impact without digital gloss. These choices ground satire in bodily horror, making abstract critique corporeal.

Sound effects amplify carnage: crisping flesh sizzles like overdone steak, screams harmonise with Stetson’s reeds. Post-production at Skywalker Sound polished mixes, immersing audiences in auditory assault mirroring diners’ sensory overload.

Director in the Spotlight

Mark Mylod, born 4 June 1965 in Worcester, England, emerged from theatre and television to become a powerhouse director blending dark humour with incisive drama. Educated at Oxford University in philosophy, politics, and economics, Mylod cut teeth on British TV, helming episodes of Midsomer Murders (1999) and Murphy’s Law (2001). Transition to America yielded Entourage (2005-2007), where sharp ensemble dynamics foreshadowed later triumphs.

His feature debut Alison’s Birthday (1981) was a minor horror, but television defined ascent: creator of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency (2001), showrunner for Shameless US (2011-2021), infusing grit with pathos across 134 episodes. Episodes of Game of Thrones (“The Laws of Gods and Men”, 2014; “Home”, 2016) showcased epic scope, earning Emmy nods. Peak arrived with Succession (2018-2023), directing nine episodes including “Nobody Is Ever Missing” and finale “With Open Eyes”, nabbing DGA and Emmy awards for masterful power plays.

Influences span Mike Leigh’s social realism, Coen brothers’ satire, and Kubrick’s precision. The Menu marks sophomore feature after Movement and Location (2010), Searchlight triumph blending TV intimacy with cinematic flair. Upcoming projects include Fantastic Four MCU entry, signalling blockbuster pivot. Mylod’s oeuvre champions underdogs against systems, from Gallaghers to Roys to Hawthorn’s damned.

Filmography highlights: Shameless (2011-2021, TV series, 134 episodes – raw family dysfunction); Succession (2018-2023, TV series, key episodes – corporate savagery); Game of Thrones (2011-2019, episodes – fantasy intrigue); The Menu (2022, feature – satirical horror); Brockmire (2017-2020, TV series – baseball comedy); Episodes (2011-2017, TV series, co-creator – Hollywood skewer); Dirk Gently (2001, TV movie – quirky sci-fi). His command of actors and rhythm renders complex narratives compulsively watchable.

Actor in the Spotlight

Ralph Fiennes, born 22 December 1962 in Suffolk, England, to a photographer mother and farmer father, embodies chameleonic intensity across stage and screen. Royal Academy of Dramatic Art graduate (1985), he stormed theatre with Schindler’s List (1993) Amon Göth, earning Oscar and BAFTA nominations for chilling villainy. Breakthrough propelled The English Patient (1996), another Oscar nod as doomed lover.

Versatility defined career: heroic Archer in The Avengers (1998), seductive hedonist in Strange Days (1995), Voldemort across Harry Potter saga (2001-2011), blending menace with pathos. Stage triumphs include Schindler’s List Coriolanus (National Theatre, Olivier Award), Faith Healer (Broadway, Tony nom). Directed Coriolanus (2011), starring opposite Vanessa Redgrave.

Recent roles: M in Spectre (2015) and No Time to Die (2021), du Maurier in The White Crow (2018, directed), conductor in The Menu (2022) – Slowik’s fanaticism fused culinary zeal with revolutionary fury, critics’ darling. Awards: BFI Fellowship (2018), Evening Standard (multiple), César honour. Personal life: married to Shakira Caine (2022), father via prior relationships, vocal on arts funding.

Comprehensive filmography: Schindler’s List (1993 – Nazi commandant); The English Patient (1996 – romantic lead); Strange Days (1995 – cyberpunk lensman); The End of the Affair (1999 – adulterous writer); Onegin (1999 – brooding aristocrat); The Avengers (1998 – spy hero); Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001 – Voldemort, reprised through 2011); The Constant Gardener (2005 – activist diplomat); In Bruges (2008 – gangster boss); The Duchess (2008 – devious duke); The Reader (2008 – lawyer); Coriolanus (2011, dir/star – Shakespearean warrior); Skyfall (2012 – M); The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014 – Gustave, Oscar nom); The Invisible Woman (2013, dir/star – Dickens affair); Spectre (2015 – M); A Bigger Splash (2015 – rock star); The White Crow (2018, dir – Nureyev biopic); The King (2019 – Moses); No Time to Die (2021 – M); The Menu (2022 – Chef Slowik). Theatre: King Lear (2020, Almeida), Antony and Cleopatra (1999). Fiennes’ precision elevates every frame.

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Bibliography

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Collum, J. (2023) Elevated Horror: Class, Taste, and Terror in 21st-Century Cinema. McFarland.

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