The Menu (2022)
In The Menu, one of the oddest mainstream horror movies of recent years, a demented chef at an elite restaurant hatches an elaborate revenge plot against a group of rich patrons.
Chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) is the head cook at Hawthorn, an exclusive restaurant located on an isolated private island. He has meticulously constructed an elaborate dinner that is planned to end with the brutal deaths of everyone inside the restaurant, including himself.
His dedicated staff worships him and robotically does whatever he says. Slowik seems to have everything set up perfectly. However, a wrench is thrown into his plans by Margot (Ana Taylor-Joy), a ravishing redhead with a mysterious past.
Chef Slowik has painstakingly vetted and invited all of the guests to this special event. Like Jigsaw from the Saw movies, Slowik somehow knows all of his victims’ dirty secrets, including affairs, tax evasion, and larceny. The movie doesn’t bother to explain how he knows this stuff, but any explanation would sound ridiculous anyway.
Slowik wants to punish them (and himself) for reasons that are gradually revealed throughout the film. But Margot arrives unexpectedly. She’s not on the guest list and Slowik doesn’t know what to do with her.
“Do not eat. Taste.”
Anyone who has longed for a juicy cheeseburger after having an unsatisfying meal at an overpriced fancy restaurant will identify with Margot. She is the reluctant guest of Tyler (Nicholas Hoult), a shallow wannabe cook who is an obsessive admirer of Slowik.
Margot has no patience for the pretensions of exclusive restaurants and hardcore foodie culture. She is thoroughly unimpressed by the dishes that Slowik serves her. Slowik regards her skepticism with a mixture of surprise, indignation, and grudging respect.
Ralph Fiennes gives an entertaining performance as the vengeful chef. He makes several memorable speeches to his guests throughout the dinner. His monologues begin with friendly banter but become increasingly sinister and threatening. Anya Taylor is ferocious as the enigmatic Margot, who tells multiple conflicting stories about her past and true identity.
The rest of the guests are the generic “rich snob” types that have been seen in countless other movies. None of them are particularly interesting, nor is there any reason for us to care about what happens to them.
In The Menu‘s final act, Chef Slowik reveals the shocking last course, and the dinner comes to an explosive conclusion. One thing’s for sure – after watching this movie, you’ll never look at smores the same way again.
The Menu is intended as a satire of classism, but its barbs don’t always hit the mark. There is one funny scene where Slowik explains his philosophy on bread – basically that he refuses to serve it because bread is food for simple lay people – but if you’re looking for a profound dissertation on American social stratification, you’re sure as hell not going to find it here.
Rating
The Menu is an entertaining movie thanks to strong performances by its two leads. Fiennes and Taylor-Joy save this film and rescue it from bland mediocrity .
Rating from 1 (avoid at all costs) to 10 (masterpiece): 6
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