What’s always important in a black horror comedy movie is a complementary blend of both nervous comedy and nerve-wrecking horror moments. ‘The Menu’ balances both these aspects in a very subtle yet refreshing way. Of course, a large chunk of that credit goes to the story writers Seth Reiss and Will Tracey and the movie’s director, Mark Mylod.
The movie revolves around the concept of a certain number of people visiting a remote island to experience one of the finest food menus ever created. Veteran actor Ralph Fiennes leads the cooking team, with his character named Chef Slowik.
As things start to unfold, and the Chef introduces his menu to the guests one by one, a certain sense of chaos breaks loose. The guests, including certain big-pocket guys, businessmen, an established restaurant reviewer, and a young duo as played by Nicholas Hoult and Anya Taylor-Joy, are all left in shock as they realize that maybe all this was a trap, and who knows if there’s a way out.
What separates The Menu from the other similar films?
What gives The Menu an edge over similar films is the blatant yet unforceful execution of horror-inducing scenes. The movie surprises the audience with the unpredictability that unfolds on the screen. The storytelling, screenplay, and direction never back down from punching the strong horror elements that build tension.
What’s more surprising is that the makers are also quickly able to diffuse such high-pitch elements as and when required or wanted/needed by the screenplay, inducing a sarcastic tone to the previous unfoldings of things.
The Menu cast: Some of the memorable lead performances
Ralph Fiennes‘ performance in The Menu will remain in people’s memories forever. The experienced actor has shown how one could land a terrifying yet honest performance. In every frame, Fiennes’ performance shines. His body language, his eye gestures, to his dialogue delivery are all enough to instill fear among the viewers single-handedly.
Another substantial pillar of the cast was Nicholas Hoult. The actor playing the character of Tyler is basically devoted to the art of cooking. Irrespective of whatever chaos goes on in front of his eyes, his sole care remains on the menu being served and the uniqueness of it. He nails playing a character who, despite being aware of the sinister unfolding of things, remains submissive to the core purpose. Nicholas Hoult delivers an impeccable performance.
Anya Taylor-Joy also pulls off a substantial on-screen performance in The Menu. The actress manages to do justice to a role that might have gone either way. Upon realizing what unfortunate turn of events led her to that night, her character named Margot, manages to ensnare that fear on screen. Every emotion that she felt was visible through her sincere body language, eye moments, dialogue delivery, and really strong screen presence.
The remainder of the cast does a stellar job themselves in keeping up with the brilliantly penned script of the film. All in all, The Menu surely goes down in the list of one of the unmissable black horror comedy movies of all time.
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