The Menu delivers a refreshingly bizarre take on the quirky film genre of comedy horror. Starring the mesmerizing Anya Taylor-Joy and plausible Ralph Fiennes, The Menu is filled with blood-curdling moments as it marinates in the element of surprise with every scrumptious bite.
Taylor-Joy, as the edgy character Margot, adds the bit of mystery needed in the ritualistic feature written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy. She finds herself engulfed in the world of her insufferable partner, Tyler (Nicholas Hoult), who is obsessed with Chef Slowik’s (Fiennes) masterful art of cooking.
An exclusive invitation to the remote island in which Chef Slowik’s restaurant thrives introduces Margot and Tyler to an interesting set of characters that include a movie star (John Leguizamo), veteran couple (Reed Birney and Judith Light), food critic (Janet McTeer), and a few “new money” patrons, played by the kinetic group Rob Yang, Mark St. Cyr, and Arturo Castro.
Chef Slowik’s army of eager prodigy cooks supports an unexplained motive to teach everyone a lesson worth dying for. One devotee that left an unforgettable impression was Elsa, played by actress Hong Chau. The austere hostess offered deadpan, dark humor in her acquaintance with the rambunctious group. Her presence added to the distinctive militant ambience of an ironically leisure experience and was certainly missed on the latter half of the film.
Admittedly (and admirably), by the time the film ends there’s several questions left unanswered. In fact, the leftovers from The Menu begs of a prequel that explains the Chef’s beginnings and where he went so wrong. Even the tantalizing dramas embedded in the characters of Margot and Tyler peak curiosity about what exactly led them to their current state. Can we get The Menu: Appetizers please?
A production of Hyperobject Industries and Alienworx Productions, with distribution by Searchlight Pictures, The Menu’s Nov. 18 opening captured a box office of $9M, a pretty decent performance for an original feature with no previous IP brand to stand on. Its second weekend in theaters amounted to $5.6M, as it competed with the Thanksgiving holiday, World Cup sporting event, and the box office juggernaut Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
All in all, The MouthSoap highly recommends The Menu for its originality, stellar acting performances, and refreshingly simple, but artsy take on horror.
