THE MENU

Where the picture truly stumbles is in the characterisation, as all the characters apart from Taylor-Joy's are immensely unlikeable, arrogant and obnoxious.

The Menu has enough intriguing ingredients to pique anyone's interest but the film that is ultimately served up isn't so much an acquired taste as an all-out indigestion waiting to happen.

The main problem with The Menu isn't really the premise, which sees a dozen well-off guests dine in a fancy, secluded restaurant where they experience a chef's menu that gets more disturbing with each course. It's not really the cast either, as Anya Taylor-Joy and Ralph Fiennes make for a fine central duo.

Where the picture truly stumbles is in the characterisation, as all the characters apart from Taylor-Joy's are immensely unlikeable, arrogant and obnoxious. This was undoubtedly a conscious decision by the screenwriting duo, but it leaves you with too little people to root for. Had the plot been up to scratch this needn't have been a unescapable problem but the many twists and turns are too hard to stomach, while director Mark Mylod never finds the right balance between horror, satire and Grand Guignol pleasures.

So as far as movies go, The Menu is a dish you can easily pass up.

release: 2022

director: Mark Mylod

starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Fiennes, Nicholas Hoult, Hong Chau