Batter and blood splatter: ‘THE MENU’ cooks up the tasty, nerve-frying goods with wicked performances and commentary

Preston Barta // Features Editor

THE MENU

Rated R, 106 minutes.

U.S. Premiere held at Fantastic Fest on Sept. 23. Encore screening on Sept. 27 @ 11 a.m. CT. Searchlight Pictures will release the film on Nov. 18.

AUSTIN, TEXAS – It’s possible that after The Menu hits theaters later this year, our appetites for new terror will ramp up even more – especially for ones that couple darkness with honesty and marinade it in quality comedy. This is Mark Mylod’s high-stakes nerve-fryer about the pressures of working in a professional kitchen. It’s a juicy satire that claps its hands at the opening, holding your attention until its explosive finale. 

Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult turn in top-shelf performances as Margot and Tyler, a couple who experience a limited-seating tasting menu at an upper-crust restaurant on a small, secluded island. But this isn’t a loving candle-lit dinner with all the oohs and aahs of a romance. Instead, it’s an anxiety-inducing thriller that sees guests trapped by a celebrity chef with a taste for malice (a killer-good Ralph Fiennes). Bon appétit! 

At first, you’re wined and dined with the film’s pleasantries. You get swept up in the intrigue of the cooking world before it turns otherworldly with its in-depth exploration of art, living inauthentically, and so much more. That tonal shift (as teased in the trailer) makes this more than your average trip to a fantasy island with a bunch of rich jerks. Slowly, the walls of discomfort come down with each new meal course rollout. The plot boils on high heat, and the different pools of characters make this a great, intense work.

For instance, Hoult portrays the Hermoine Granger of culinary arts. He’s an insufferable know-it-all without an ounce of compassion (except for his heroes, like Fiennes’ Chef Slowik). It’s hilarious how terrible of a person he is, and Taylor-Joy’s reactions to his buffoonery and god-like love for the Chef are gold. Taylor-Joy is the character the audience experiences the story through. She’s not afraid to call a spade a spade or challenge others despite her own complexities. It’s truly a fascinating turn from both lead performers.

But it’s the intensity of Fiennes that runs away with the show. You sweat when he claps his hands to round up his guest’s attention. The perspiration volume only picks up as the movie goes on. While this isn’t Fiennes first go in striking fear, his Chef Slowik is a new nightmare that’s unlike Voldermort and Schindler’s List’s Amon Goeth. It’s wild to watch his unpredictability — normalizing the chaos that unfolds like he’s an avatar in a game with endless lives and no cares. 

However, don’t expect this to be a Purge movie set at the dinner table. The Menu is much brighter than its genre markings may have you believe. While the blood hits the deck, the feelings and conversations the film baskets make your mouth water from the thrill of it all. It can turn on a dime, flowing from smiles to shattered-teeth nervousness within seconds, but it remains consistently exciting. 

So order up and savor the flavor.

Grade: A-