I know I’m late to this one. I can’t be on time to everything. I’ve been on something of a binge recently. In the past few months, my partner introduced me to the 2015 film Burnt and I happened across a 2023 Thai film called Hunger. Both are focused on food–something I am passionate about. And then there’s the phenomenal hit series The Bear. Food is very much on my mind. I’ve run a kitchen, designed menus, gone to many-course tastings. I am not sure I qualify as a chef, but I at least meet the requirements of gourmand and foodie.
And I’m a big horror fan. This movie is made for me. To be clear, if you’re into foodie culture and horror, this is a must watch. If you’re not into foodie stuff, it’s probably a skip.
So let’s talk about it.
Before anyone dies, The Menu is largely a sardonic reflection on haute cuisine. It holds a mirror to the face of the top level of the restaurant industry and begs it to see itself. The diners are self-important and corrupt; the cooks are brainwashed, and the only people who really see the world they are in for what it actually is are the protagonist and the antagonist (which, to be fair, is how most stories work anyway).
The plot mostly works. It makes about as much sense as any actual cult mass-murder/suicide event in the real world, honestly. There are some loose threads, but that’s not a cardinal sin. If I were going to complain about something, it would be the protagonist’s escape, which is awfully convenient and barely believable, but even so it felt right. It wasn’t the most logical, but if we take the movie’s core approach to be one which prods at contemporary culture, that prodding can certainly extend to cinema, too. I mean, the way the movie closes is basically a mashup of Midsommar and Midnight Mass, but with a cheeseburger.
The cinematography was fine. Maybe a little too sharp. The acting was strong–no notes from little ol’ me, anyways. That’s the thing, really. It’s a technically proficient movie in the best sense. It’s not trying to change the world with experimental new forms or rewrite anything. In fact, if you let the point of it go over your head, it’s just a generally decent horror movie. What makes it really unique is that it’s actually not really a horror movie. It’s a comedy. Out of all the genre-specific awards it won or was nominated for, six were for comedy; only three were horror/thriller.
If there is one thing I think it did surprisingly well at, it’s the really earnest acting of Ralph Fiennes when he and Anya Taylor-Joy have their heart-to-hearts. Those moments felt like we had stepped into an intense and private discourse on the real horrors of the service industry.
Cthulhuville 