A new trailer for The Menu teases a horror film in which people are hunted for sport and killed over decadent food. Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit), Nicholas Holt (X-Men: First Class), and Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel) star in the food-centered horror film along with several supporting actors including Hong Chau, Janet McTeer, Judith Light, Reed Birney, Paul Adelstein, Aimee Carrero, Arturo Castro, Mark St. Cyr, Rob Yang, and John Leguizamo. The film is directed by Mark Mylod (Succession) from a script penned by Seth Reiss (Late Night with Seth Meyers) and Will Tracy (Last Week Tonight with John Oliver).
A previous teaser trailer released in June for the film introduced Tyler (played by Holt) and Margo (played by Taylor-Joy), a young couple who travel to a remote island with 10 other guests to have an extravagant dinner prepared by renowned Chef Slowik (played by Fiennes). However, once on the island, they realize that the food prepared for them will be the least exciting part of their evening. The film comes from Searchlight Pictures and is produced by Adam McKay (Succession) and Betsy Koch (Robbie).
Searchlight Pictures has released a new trailer for The Menu that gives even more details into how Tyler, Margo, and the other patrons will be subjected to a sadistic game with their meal. The trailer shows an element of dark humor, including how Margo is different from the rest of the guests due to her apparent disinterest in the expensive dining experience. Margo’s disillusion with the meal may come in handy as Chef Slowik seems to let her in on his plans, asking her in the trailer, “I have to know if you’re with us or with them.” The Menu trailer only spirals into more chaos from there with the guests being served pancakes with their pictures on them, someone firing a gun, and the guests being given a 45-second head start to run into the woods before being hunted. The full trailer can be viewed below:
The trailer, aside from offering a star-studded cast, does not hide the fact that the diners in the film will be put through several ordeals. Having writers such as Reiss and Tracy on board means that the promise for humor in the film is high, and having Mylod involved will hopefully mesh this humor seamlessly into a more dramatic and horror-filled plot, as his work on Succession clearly demonstrates that operating in a genre-bending medium is one of his strengths. Several of the cast members, in particular Holt, Fiennes, McTeer, and Chau, have also demonstrated their abilities to find the perfect tone in films and television that blend comedy with drama and suspense.
Since the trailer reveals that the chefs will turn murderous, hopefully the film still offers several other surprises and twists that viewers will have to see in theaters. Additionally, audiences will have to see whether Margo’s character is in fact on the side of the diners or on the side of the chefs by the end of the film, as teased by Fiennes’ haunting question in the trailer. Viewers will have to judge for themselves whether The Menu satiates their appetite for a horror-comedy this fall when the film premieres on November 18.
Sources: Searchlight Pictures
