Greetings, and welcome back to October Horror Fest! Today, I looked at my first two films, and noticed a trend. They were slashers. Of course I love slashers to death, but horror isn’t all knives and blood. Horror is something in your mind. Something that disturbs you. Today, I took a step back, and watched a psychological horror thriller, one that I loved, and one I’m excited to share with you all. Without further ado, sit back, relax, turn off the lights, grab some Candy and Popcorn, and let’s review…

The Menu

Our film starts off slow, just like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. However, we meet our main characters, a couple. Tyler Ledford and Margot Mills are taking a boat to Hawthorne, a restaurant on an island that is EXTREMELY prestigious. Margot and Tyler, as well as lots of wealthy guests, take the boat, and arrive at the island. Once there, we see that some things are off.

For starters, the staff of the restaurant all live on the island in small quarters. They have an almost cult-like following of “Chef”, the leader of Hawthorne. The Chef’s name is Julian, but we will be referring to him as Chef. After a quick tour of the island given by the Chef’s assistant, they enter the restaurant. Margot is quickly mistaken for someone else, but is still let into the restaurant. This will come up again. As everyone is seated, dinner begins. However, it has dark twists. Chef comes out swinging, making amazing food, but leaning into the conceptual aspect of it. He wants his guests to experience his cooking. He has long monologues, some even about his dark past, as the customers become more and more unnerved.

Tyler, the entire time, is loving it. He even gets mad at Margot, and calls her a child. Margot is obviously hurt, and goes to leave for the bathroom, where she runs into the chef. A small but important conversation happens, as Chef asks Margot “who she really is”. He does not believe her real name is Margot, and that she is hiding something. That she isn’t a part of the plan. Margot dismisses this, and heads back to her seat. While in the bathroom, however, Margot notices a man carrying angel wings in the yard.

Finally back at her seat, 40 minutes into the movie, it all changes. I was honestly on my couch watching, expecting a casual film. It was anything but. Sushi Chef Jeremy comes out of the kitchen, and is given a speech by Chef. Chef talks about Jeremy, and says he will never be great. The next course is “The Mess”, by Jeremy. To begin the course, Chef kisses Jeremy on the cheek, and steps back. Jeremy takes a gun, and shoots himself in the head. I was absolutely taken aback. Take it from the person who’s seen more horror movies than I can count, this had me. Jeremy’s dead body falls to the floor, as the customers start to panic. One customer, Richard, even gets his finger sliced off after trying to leave.

Tyler, however, is still in the moment. He enjoys his food, not even caring about the scene around him. As the rich customers panic, Chef instructs them all back to their seats. He announces that they are the ruin of his work. Thanks to them, his art is ruined. He says that they will all be killed during the night. All of them. After this shocking revelation, he calls Margot into the kitchen, sensing she is different from the rest. He gives her the option of dying with the cooks, or dying with the customers. She heads back to her table, and after 15 minutes, is called back to Chef’s office. It is revealed that Margot isn’t named Margot. Her real name is Erin, and she is an escort who was hired by Richard, and who was taken out by Tyler for the day. Margot (we’re still gonna call her that, just for the sake of cohesion) had to do horrible acts for Richard. Chef bluntly talks to her about this, and he knows when he has a bad customer, same as Margot. 

Once back in her seat, it is revealed that Tyler knew ahead of time that everyone would die, and the insane culinary addict only hired Margot to come with him, knowing full well she would die. Tyler is then picked up from his seat, in an act not planned in the menu, and is taken to the kitchen. He is forced to cook a horrible dish, and after this, hangs himself in the storeroom. Another shocking moment.

Margot is forced to go collect a barrel needed for dessert. Instead, she breaks into Chef’s quarters. Once inside, she sees an exact replica of the restaurant. She enters Chef’s bedroom, and sees pictures of him as a young cook. One that stood out was his employee of the month picture. A massive smile on his face, as he flips a burger.

Suddenly, Chef’s assistant enters the room. She attacks Margot, but Margot wins the fight, killing her suddenly. Before she exits, Margot finds a radio. She calls for help. A shaken and blood stained Margot leaves. and gets the barrel back to the restaurant. Once back in her seat, a coast guard officer shows up. He doesn’t find anything wrong, as the staffers cleaned up everyone’s injuries before he entered. However, after he asks a famous actor for his autograph, it goes wrong. The actor wrote “Help Us”. The officer takes his gun, and begins to arrest Chef. However, before he does, he helps Chef off the ground, and gives him a hug. It was all a ploy. The officer was a line cook, and put back on his jacket to help cook the final course. Margot is devastated and defeated.

As Margot cries, she gets an idea. Suddenly, she bolts out of her seat, clapping her hands just like Chef. She tells Chef that she doesn’t like his food, and wants to send it back. This is shocking, and something Tyler told her not to do hours earlier. Chef is flabbergasted, and asks what she didn’t like. When asked, Margot digs into him. She says his food is sad, made without love, bland, and takes the joy out of food. He asks what she would like instead. Remembering the picture, she asks for a cheeseburger. Moved by the request, Chef obliges. He goes into the kitchen, and makes a simple cheeseburger. Just like the ones from Margot’s childhood. He smiles as he crafts it, and brings it to her. A 9.95 cheeseburger and fry meal is presented to Margot.

Chef anxiously waits for her thoughts on the dish. She likes it, but asks for it to go. Chef waits, but says yes. He thanks her for dining with them, and Margot thanks him, hands him a 10 dollar bill, and gets up to leave. Chef was taken back to his glory days. When he loved cooking. Margot takes the coast guard boat, and drives away.

Chef steps back into his cold demeanor, but not without shedding a tear. Suddenly, the staff begins to drop marshmallows and chocolate everywhere. They give the customers marshmallow jackets and chocolate hats. Chef steps into the middle, with hot coals in his hands. He tells the customers that they have ruined him. That they represent his failure, but this will be his masterpiece. S’mores. Chef despises theme, but the flame required to make them is what he loves. He drops the coals into the graham cracker dust beneath him, telling his staff and customers that he loves them all. Hawthorne erupts in flames. Margot parks the boat in the sea and watches. The flames light up her eyes, as she takes a bite of her cheeseburger…

That is the end of The Menu, and it is easily one of my favorite psychological thrillers. I honestly was not in love with it until the plot twist halfway through, and everything changed. This movie has become a quick classic, and it’s easy to see why. I HIGHLY recommend this one to you all. Thank you all for reading, and remember, Chef loves you all…