Summary
- The Menu, like other movies in its genre, delves into themes of class warfare and explores the consequences of wealth and privilege.
- Director Mark Mylod delivers a critical hit with The Menu, a thriller that challenges societal norms and expectations.
- Fans of The Menu will enjoy similar films like Get Out and Ready or Not that offer thought-provoking social commentaries with unexpected twists.
The Menu is a shocking thriller by director Mark Mylod, and its themes of class warfare and decadence can be found in various other movies like The Menu. In The Menu, a collection of wealthy diners, including Margot Mills (Anya Taylor Joy) attend a world-renowned restaurant on an island. As their meal progresses, it becomes clear that the rigid head chef Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) has different intentions than just feeding his guests. The Menu asks questions about wealth and privilege, using its restaurant setting to explore the premise.
Certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with an impressive 76% audience score, The Menu and its characters are a critical hit. It was also a relative success, making $79 million on a budget of only $30 million (via Box Office Mojo), and impressed viewers with its story focusing on social status and the idea of delivering the opposite of what many people expected when walking into the theater. Fans looking for thrillers about gatherings gone wrong and commentaries on class divides can find many several similar movies that are sure to please as much as The Menu.
The Menu Theory: The Characters Represent The Seven Deadly Sins
The Menu's characters can be divided into seven categories based on their story arcs, which suggests they allude to the biblical Seven Deadly Sins.
17 Get Out (2017)
Jordan Peele's Social Parable Disguised As A Genre Piece
Get Out
- Director
- Jordan Peele
- Cast
- Lyle Brocato , LaKeith Stanfield , Caleb Landry Jones , Betty Gabriel , Allison Williams , Marcus Henderson , erika alexander , Bradley Whitford , Jeronimo Spinx , Catherine Keener , Daniel Kaluuya
- Release Date
- February 24, 2017
- Runtime
- 1 hour, 44 minutes
In The Menu, the chef and his crew plan to "eat the rich" and it is all in the name of social commentary. In a similar format, Jordan Peele's terrifying Get Out takes the social commentary and places it in a more direct horror genre story. Get Out depicts a wealthy white liberal family who abducts Black people to live forever in a “superior body” once they age. It’s beyond twisted, and just like The Menu, the exact message isn’t immediately apparent, rewarding rewatches.
Both films expertly weave their chilling narratives with sharp wit and unsettling scenarios that force audiences to confront uncomfortable truths about society.
Get Out is one of the best movies, like The Menu, which is a social parable disguised as a genre piece. Both films expertly weave their chilling narratives with sharp wit and unsettling scenarios that force audiences to confront uncomfortable truths about society. Moreover, the depth of their storytelling ensures that each viewing can offer new insights, making them films that are engaging and thought-provoking.
16 The Cabin In The Woods (2012)
Manipulates Viewers' Expectations & Explores The Ethics Of Horror
The Cabin in the Woods
- Director
- Drew Goddard
- Cast
- Richard Jenkins , Fran Kranz , Chris Hemsworth , Bradley Whitford , Kristen Connolly
- Release Date
- April 13, 2012
- Runtime
- 95 minutes
The Menu subverts expectations by appearing to be about wealthy people gathering for an exceptional dinner, but it ends up as a tale of revenge and violence. Similarly, The Cabin in the Woods was a movie that viewers expected to be like a modern-day Evil Dead, but they got something much more meta, as it ended up being a probing satire of the horror genre and its many tropes. The Cabin in the Woods uniquely manipulates viewer expectations, using its seemingly predictable setup as a launchpad to explore the mechanics and ethics of horror storytelling itself.
Like The Menu, the 2012 movie delights in pulling the rug out from under the audience, providing a commentary-laden rollercoaster that critiques the very audience it entertains. Both The Menu and The Cabin in the Woods are best experienced knowing as little as possible going into it, and fans of The Menu’s upending midpoint will enjoy something similar in The Cabin in the Woods.
15 Fresh (2022)
Noa & Margot Have A Lot Of Similarities
Fresh
- Director
- Mimi Cave
- Cast
- Andrea Bang , Daisy Edgar-Jones , Dayo Okeniyi , Brett Dier , Charlotte Le Bon , Sebastian Stan , Jonica T. Gibbs
- Release Date
- March 4, 2022
- Runtime
- 114 minutes
Fresh is a 2022 film about a young, single woman named Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones) who has been consistently unlucky on dating apps until she meets Steve (Sebastian Stan). However, Steve is worse than any of the other mediocre men she’s dated when he captures her in his home. One of the best horror movies like The Menu, Fresh's twist ending is for the horror fan who has seen everything and doesn't think they can be surprised.
Noa, like Margot in The Menu, is a strong female lead put into a dangerous situation because of the secret machinations of a man they thought was only a date. Both Fresh and The Menu use contemporary settings to unpack traditional horror tropes, twisting them into fresh narratives that resonate with today’s societal issues. They challenge viewers to examine the facades of the seemingly benign individuals and settings, highlighting how horror can manifest in everyday situations and relationships.