10 More Horror Movies Way Darker Than Advertised

Mark Mylod’s The Menu is a social satire tackling both the pretensions of the fine dining world and the rigour and intensity of the best chefs, who despite producing tiny, absurd meals most of us would miss the point of, are wound so very tightly and disciplined to militaristic standard.

This is exemplified by Chef Julian (Ralph Fiennes), who invites a smattering of critics, celebrities and foodies to his private island to taste an exclusive course of dishes. The film becomes gradually darker as the meal proceeds, turning from a humorous commentary on elite society into a methodical exercise in misery, borrowing the trappings of game horrors like Saw and Would You Rather but framing them as a gradual reveal of the chef’s insanity, and just how far he is willing to go to serve his final menu.

The Mess: the film’s fourth course, in which sous chef Jeremy (Adam Aalderks) shoots himself in the head, signals the tone change and dark turn, from which the film never really pulls back. And yet, it’s never clear from the marketing surrounding the film just how far the chef and his team go, or indeed if there’s even anything to seriously worry about at all. This is because the suggestion both in the film’s trailer and the first two thirds of the film itself is that much of the strange happenings may be merely a new level of pretension and part of the menu’s storytelling process. But oh how they are not.