The horror genre has been thriving for a number of years, with the renaissance bringing great success to both returning and new properties. During this time actress Anya Taylor-Joy has become a bit of a scream queen, thanks to her performance in projects like The Witch, Split, and The New Mutants. She’s once again returned to horror in the new movie The Menu, directed by Succession’s Mark Mylod. And the Queen’s Gambit actress revealed to CinemaBlend what she thinks audiences should do immediately after watching The Menu.
The Menu is a horror/dark comedy that is set in an exclusive five-star restaurant on a secluded island. Ralph Fiennes’ Chief Slowik is the man behind the kitchen, and things quickly start going awry as various courses are served. As you can see in the video above, I had the privilege of speaking with the cast ahead of the movie’s release, where I asked them about all the mouth-watering food we see served throughout its brisk 106-minute runtime. Anya Taylor-Joy leads the ensemble cast as protagonist Margot, and she told me she hopes that the movie inspires a specific reaction from audiences, saying:
I’m saying this movie should be the appetizer. People should go and eat after watching this movie, because you will be hungry regardless of whether you’ve eaten or not.
Personally, that’s exactly what I did. After seeing a screening of The Menu at The Toronto International Film Festival earlier this year, I almost immediately went to get myself a cheeseburger. There’s a scene in the movie where a particularly delicious-looking burger is cooked to perfection, and between that and the rest of the movie’s food, I was starving by the end of my screening. And that’s saying something considering that some horror movies are known for making people feel nauseous.
Given that The Menu is set in a place that charges thousands of dollars per head, the food that’s featured needs to look appropriately delicious. Each course is given a glorious glamor shot, which was worked on by none other than David Gelb, the creator of Chef’s Table. Actor Nicholas Hoult plays foodie Tyler in the new horror movie, and he spoke to how the food itself was featured. As the X-Men alum told me:
They’re the stars of the show. And it was beautifully framed in terms of the script, and each course being a different chapter of the story. A different reveal of Chef Slowik’s plan for all these guests throughout the evening. [...] The food was the real star of the show and I got to eat a lot of it.
The glamor shots of The Menu’s food also come with a title card, with the caption getting gradually more absurd as the film’s runtime moves on. It’s an excellent framing device, and helps to buoy the pace of Mark Mylod’s horror comedy flick. And as Anya Taylor-Joy says, it’s quite possible that moviegoers are going to be running to the nearest restaurant after seeing it. I know I did.
The Menu is in theaters now, check out the reviews. Be sure to check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. There are a few more upcoming horror movies arriving before the New Year, although they might not make you quite as hungry as this latest dark comedy.
