“The Menu” is a horror/comedy movie that had me instantly intrigued. The movie takes place at a restaurant called Hawthorn, located on a private island, in which guests have to take a boat to get to. In the movie a couple, Tyler Ledford (Nicholas Houolt) and Margot Mills (Anya Taylor-Joy) travel to Hawthorn. Their visit starts out with a tour of the island conducted by the main worker Elsa (Hong Chau). This lasts until dinner is about to begin, when they’re now seated. Once dinner begins, Chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) begins to talk about the courses with eerie introductions. They don’t think anything of this, however, because this is one of the most hard-to-get into restaurants, so they think that it is just a performance. However, as they go through the courses, each begins to get more sinister than the one before. As the high-profile guests continue to become more panicked and fearful, the plot gets more compelling. 

This movie was extremely well-produced, leaving me with no dislikes about the movie. There were many things that I enjoyed, so much so that I don’t have anything to say about any bad critiques for “The Menu.” The acting was outstanding all around, but two actors who particularly stood out to me for their performance were Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy. Their acting was incredible and really made the movie remarkable and enjoyable to watch. Another thing that I thought was really good is the plot; the plot was easy to follow and kept me wanting to watch until the very end. It also did a good job at pulling me in immediately. The special effects were realistic, as well.  

The scenes that were my favorite were getting to see what was going to happen each time they introduced a dish. The introduction always left me wondering what type of dish was coming up or what time of “show stopping” event would take place next. Introducing the dishes is where a lot of the main events happened, which made them very entertaining.

Overall, I very much enjoyed watching this movie, and my only regret is not watching it sooner. If you enjoy psychological thrillers and if you don’t like jump scares, then I would recommend this movie to you. The only people I don’t recommend this movie to are younger audiences, because it is rated R. The movie is rated R because of language and its psychological horror factor.

From the incredible acting to the details of the sets this movie is exceptionally good, and I would recommend that everyone go and watch it.  

5/5