The Menu

The Menu is a 2022 American comedy horror film directed by Mark Mylod, written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy, based on an original story created by Tracy, produced by Adam McKay, Betsy Koch and Will Ferrell. The film stars Ralph Fiennes as a celebrity chef with Hong Chau playing his assistant and Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, Janet McTeer, Reed Birney, Judith Light, Aimee Carrero, and John Leguizamo playing diners who attend his exclusive restaurant. The Menu had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2022, and was released in the United States on November 18, 2022, by Searchlight Pictures. The film grossed over $79 million worldwide and received positive reviews from critics. Plot Foodie Tyler Ledford and his date, Margot Mills, travel by boat to Hawthorn, an exclusive restaurant on a private island owned by celebrity chef Julian Slowik. The other guests are food critic Lillian Bloom; her editor Ted; wealthy regulars Richard and Anne Leibrandt; washed-up movie star George Diaz and his personal assistant Felicity Lynn; business partners Soren, Dave, and Bryce; and Slowik's alcoholic mother Linda. The group is given an island tour by the maître d' Elsa, who notes that Margot is not Tyler's designated guest. Dinner begins and Slowik introduces a series of courses, during which he delivers increasingly unsettling monologues. For the third course, uncomfortable truths about each guest are exposed via images laser-printed on tortillas. During the fourth course, sous-chef Jeremy kills himself. When Richard tries to leave, the staff cuts off his left ring finger as a warning to stay. Hawthorn's angel investor Doug Verrick, to whom Slowik relinquished ownership during the COVID-19 pandemic, is drowned in front of the guests. The fifth course commences with Slowik allowing himself to be stabbed by Katherine, an employee whom he had sexually harassed. The female guests dine with Katherine while the men are given the chance to escape the island via a game of cat-and-mouse, but Slowik's staff catches them all. When Lillian attempts to gain Katherine's favor by offering assistance in starting her own restaurant, Katherine reveals that she was the one who suggested Slowik kill the guests and staff.