The Menu
2022 · Directed by Mark Mylod
Original language: English
- comedy
- horror
The story
A young couple travels to a remote island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises.
What it’s like
Sleek, cold, and precisely lit, with the restaurant's dim amber glow set against the black sea and the stark white of plates arriving one by one. The camera stays composed and controlled, favouring tidy symmetrical frames, slow pans across the dining room and tight close-ups on food and faces that make every course feel like an event. The score builds from restrained strings and ticking tension into sharper, mocking swells, and the silences between dishes do much of the work. The vibe is icy satire with a mordant bite: elegant, uneasy, and darkly funny, best for a late evening with the lights low. The arc follows a diner whose appetite for the experience curdles into disillusion, and the film moves briskly, each course tightening the screw. Violence is sudden and bloody, with brief graphic moments and frequent menace; there is no sexual content, and the horror lands through shock and cruelty more than lingering gore. It suits viewers who enjoy sharp, savage comedy about privilege, obsession, and the cult of fine dining, and who can handle a steady drip of dread.
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