Eat and Run! Dine and Dash! You wouldn’t want to make a reservation at this restaurant, but you can certainly watch the experience.

You shouldn’t base your opinion of this film on its modest title because you will actually be witnessing a lot more than that. The Menu is a brand-new comedy thriller with a compelling storyline and an outstanding cast.

Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) and his date Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy) are headed to the most expensive dinner, a $1,250-per-person meal, created by Chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes). This is meant to be his best menu for his new unique concept restaurant. The guest list for the evening ahead is what you would call only A-list  patrons looking searching of the “wow” factor.

This guest list has character and is designed perfectly made up of arrogant food critics (Janet McTeer and Paul Adelstein), wealthy restaurant regulars (Reed Birney and Judith Light), washed up movie stars (John Leguizamo and Aimee Carrero), businessmen also known as the finance bros (Arturo Castro, Rob Yang and Mark St. Cyr) who work for the billionaire who owns the restaurant. It is meant to be perfect because they all have one thing in common, the simple fact that they are all pretentious and fraudulent members of high society.

In order to make this dining experience unique, Chef Slowik explains that he wants everyone to taste rather than consume the first meal. The cinematography in this film stood out as something special; the segments that introduced the courses included impressive camera work, not to mention the captions that listed the ingredients. The ingredients show what happens in each course; they might be amusing or terrifying, but they escalate as the film goes on.

Another twos-s0me, Tyler, the food enthusiast, and his date, Margot, which should have been his now ex-girlfriend are an important part of this all-star ensemble. The biggest error Tyler made was bringing Margot, and here is where the chef’s menu starts to falter. You’ll wonder why Margot is such a pain in the neck. You’ll have to see the film to learn what happened to the evening’s guests and what dangers they encountered.

Warning! The Menu is listed as a horror flick, but trust me–it will be nothing intense, no jump scares whatsoever! Ideally suited for juniors or seniors, make sure you are comfortable with this and are allowed to watch the film by your parents as it is rated R.

No Spoilers ahead! The biggest takeaway from this movie is the film’s meaning. Weaving social commentary, themes of social climbing, high society, lost secret arts, and the general decay of appreciation, “The Menu” casts a darkly humorous spell.

It is crucial to note how cuisine is being exploited by high society when chefs want real appreciation from “ordinary” people. The ending of this film is once again very simple, and it gets the movie extra credit for not making drastically upsetting and needless cliffhangers. Margot is the odd one out; she is a typical member of the middle class, and this is what fundamentally transforms and elevates the film.

An epic 10/10. Enjoy this meal of a movie, if you can stomach it by adding “The Menu”(pending your parents’ approval) to your watchlist! In theaters or on HBO Max.