#TheMenuMovie
The Menu, Mark Mylod’s dark comedy thriller, premiered November 18, 2022, and became a sleeper hit with foodies and horror fans.
The Film
Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy) accompanies her foodie date Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) to Hawthorn, an exclusive restaurant on a private island where celebrity chef Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) serves a deadly tasting menu to ultra-wealthy guests.
As courses progress, Slowik’s menu becomes literal—revealing each dish as commentary on class, capitalism, and culinary culture. The guests (including Judith Light, John Leguizamo, Hong Chau) realize they’re not leaving alive.
The screenplay (by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy) satirized fine dining pretension, foodie culture, and the ultra-rich while delivering thriller suspense.
Cultural Impact
The cheeseburger twist—Margot requesting a simple burger, breaking Slowik’s elitist spell—became iconic. The film argued that sometimes a perfectly made cheeseburger is better than molecular gastronomy nonsense.
“The customer is not always right” (Hong Chau’s Elsa) became a service industry rallying cry. Slowik’s monologues about being “broken by this world” resonated with burned-out creatives.
Foodies debated whether the film celebrated or mocked culinary artistry. Chef culture Twitter dissected every detail.
Reception & Streaming
Critics enjoyed it (89% Rotten Tomatoes). It earned $79 million worldwide—solid for a $30 million thriller—then became a streaming phenomenon on HBO Max.
Anya Taylor-Joy’s Margot became another in her string of resourceful, genre-savvy heroines. Ralph Fiennes’s restrained menace earned praise.
The film joined Knives Out, Glass Onion, and Bodies Bodies Bodies in 2022’s “eat the rich” movie trend.