The Menu
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | Release Date: November 18, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
71
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 45 Critic Reviews
Positive:
36
Mixed:
8
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Original-CinThom ErnstNov 10, 2022
The Menu is the most entertaining ensemble film since Knives Out, and the most engaging horror-satire since Get Out. But no matter what comparisons and assumptions are made, The Menu will not be the movie you expect. Read full review
95
Paste MagazineMatthew JacksonSep 27, 2022
The complexity, both tonally and visually, is there to tease out the film’s black genre heart, and it’s that heart that makes The Menu a delicious and deeply filling experience that will make you beg for a second helping. Read full review
91
UproxxVince ManciniNov 18, 2022
It’s a perfectly-cooked cheeseburger of a movie, which isn’t trying to be foie gras seared on a hot rock over a bed of foraged botanicals, but in which every element — bun, patty, cheese, veg — is lovingly prepared, perfectly executed, and working together in perfect harmony. Read full review
90
IGNRafael MotamayorSep 14, 2022
The Menu is a hilariously wicked thriller about the world of high-end restaurants, featuring a stellar cast led by a phenomenal Ralph Fiennes, some of the most gorgeous food shots in recent film history, and accompanied by a delicious hors d'oeuvres sampling of commentary on the service industry, class warfare, and consumerism. Read full review
90
Screen DailyWendy IdeSep 13, 2022
The rarefied world of haute cuisine is not exactly a hard target to satirise, but this deliciously savage comedy from director Mark Mylod makes every bitter mouthful count. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerNov 17, 2022
Soup to nuts, The Menu is satisfying and rich, yet lean and cutting. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattNov 18, 2022
The movie loses some momentum in the final third, and tends to over-egg its caricatures of all these platinum-card fools and clueless masters of the universe. But its appetite for destruction is also too much fun in the end to refuse: a giddy little amuse bouche for the apocalypse to come. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubTomris LafflyNov 17, 2022
Mylod’s stew saves its most mouth-watering plate for the last. That’s why it’s fiendishly delightful. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeNov 23, 2022
Subtle it’s not, but it’s maliciously entertaining. It turns out that revenge on the ultra-wealthy is a dish best seared over a naked flame. Read full review
80
The TelegraphRobbie CollinNov 18, 2022
Parts of The Menu taste familiar. There’s a dash of Michael Haneke’s winking mercilessness; a soupçon of Midsommar’s black-hearted mischief; the sheeny satire of super-wealth comes straight from Succession. But the cast and filmmakers’ commitment to nasty delight is unswerving, while the dinner ends in the most gratifying way imaginable: just deserts. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Alison WillmoreNov 18, 2022
The rage at the heart of The Menu is directed at the impossible melding of art and commerce, at the way we’re taught that success at the former requires the support of the latter, even if it means making crushing compromises that drain the joy out of, in this case, the expressly straightforward pleasure of food. Read full review
80
ABC NewsPeter TraversNov 18, 2022
Foodie culture gets hilariously torched as a celebrity chef, acted to pretentious perfection by Ralph Fiennes, holds his customers, except for a deliciously defiant Anya Taylor-Joy, to the fire at his restaurant from hell. It’s all delectably unhinged. Read full review
80
The IndependentNick HiltonNov 17, 2022
Like so many entries in this hybrid genre of late, it passes both ends of the generic test: unsettling enough to have audiences grimacing, funny enough to provide a few belly laughs. Read full review
80
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiNov 17, 2022
It’s a diabolically odd horror comedy that keeps the giggles at a steady simmer until, eventually, they’re just right. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshNov 17, 2022
The Menu is a tightly wound, sharply rendered skewering of the dichotomy between the takers and the givers, or in this case, the eaters and the cooks. Read full review
80
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisNov 17, 2022
In service to a gleefully malicious tone, Mark Mylod’s direction is cool, tight and clipped, the actors slotting neatly into characters so unsympathetic we become willing accessories to their suffering. Read full review
80
Vanity FairEsther ZuckermanSep 11, 2022
The Menu lands its joke about the Chef Table-ification of cuisine while also finding nuance in its “capitalism is a plague” messaging. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeSep 11, 2022
This is a vengeful dark comedy that probes percolating class anxieties (a popular theme in cinema lately). It indulges in opportunities to strip the emperor of his clothes, and while that doesn’t necessarily translate to the most revelatory social commentary, it does make for an amusing ride. Read full review
78
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzNov 16, 2022
An eat-the-rich satire that would go rotten without its supremely overqualified cast, The Menu is as much fun as it is ephemeral. Read full review
78
PolygonTasha RobinsonSep 29, 2022
There’s some knuckle-biting tension as viewers wait to see how it’ll all play out, but Mylod and the writers also suggest that it’s worth chuckling a little at everyone involved, whether they’re serving up fancy versions of mayhem or just paying through the nose for it. Read full review
75
The AtlanticDavid SimsNov 18, 2022
The Menu is unique, because it casts Slowik as both hero and villain. He’s not wrong to simmer with hatred for his elitist customers, but he’s also seething at the fact that he has, in fact, become one of them, propped up by the very system they created. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireNov 18, 2022
The Menu remains consistently dazzling as a feast for the eyes and ears. Read full review
75
The Seattle TimesBethany Jean ClementNov 17, 2022
For the right audience, The Menu also succeeds as satire of the darkest possible, hilarious kind, best served with plenty of popcorn. Read full review
75
ObserverRex ReedNov 17, 2022
Bizarre, original and loaded with revelatory surprises with every turn of the page, The Menu uses the culture of haute cuisine as a metaphor for the spit-roasted values of high society, with results that are vicious, delicious, and horrifying. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleNov 16, 2022
It’s maybe not one of the best movies of 2022, but it was certainly one of my favorites. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliNov 16, 2022
A dark satire that skewers privilege and eviscerates the famous, the wealthy, and professional critics (gulp), this film from prolific TV director Mark Mylod takes no prisoners. Read full review
75
The Associated PressJake CoyleNov 16, 2022
Even as The Menu teeters unevenly in its third act and things get gruesomely less appetizing, its greasy last bites succeed in capturing one common aspect of molecular gastronomy: The Menu will leave you hungry. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperNov 15, 2022
Working from a clever if sometimes ridiculously over-the-top script by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy, the British director Mark Mylod (“Game of Thrones,” “Succession”) teams with a well-cast ensemble to deliver a deadpan spoof of “Cabin in the Woods” type horror films, draped in a “White Lotus” setting. Read full review
75
IndieWireChristian BlauveltSep 11, 2022
The Menu does do one thing exceptionally well: it holds your attention and makes you think for a time that any outcome is possible. That alone is something to salivate over. Read full review
70
Rolling StoneDavid FearNov 21, 2022
A movie that starts off as a scalpel-sharp satire, casually slides into becoming a skin-of-your-teeth horror film and ends as a flamebroiled screed in more ways than one, director Mark Mylod’s Grand Guignol take on the master-and-servant relationship of hospitality industries will not suit everyone’s palettes. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzNov 14, 2022
Mylod, working from a script by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy, goes all in on the social commentary. Some of it is funny, some of it appalling, none of it as engaging as when Mylod uses food to make statements. Read full review
70
Screen RantMae AbdulbakiSep 13, 2022
Audiences may not have much of an appetite after watching the film, but the experience, like Slowik’s promise to his own guests, will be one they won’t soon forget. Read full review
70
SlashfilmChris EvangelistaSep 11, 2022
The set-up is sound, and the film is gloriously twisted. But The Menu also lags — once we're clued into what's happening, some of the fun is gone. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsNov 18, 2022
Part “Seven,” part haute-cuisine “Saw,” part reality cooking show, director Mylod’s film finally isn’t sure of how far to push the effrontery. It helps, however, to have Fiennes in the kitchen and a Nordic smokehouse out back. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreNov 17, 2022
The Menu is entertaining enough. But the meal is — like the horror movie logic of it all — perfunctory, if magnificently presented. Read full review
63
Washington PostAnn HornadayNov 16, 2022
"Eat the rich” might be a popular theme this movie season, but The Menu takes the idea to extremes that finally overpower the palate. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawNov 16, 2022
It is well-acted and well directed by Mylod with tasty side plates of droll humour. Read full review
60
EmpireSiddhant AkhalaNov 14, 2022
The Menu’s straight-faced depiction of absurd culinary violence may not be imaginative or thrilling, but the film is rarely boring. It’s deep-fried junk disguised as gastronomy; it may not fully satisfy, but it’ll fill a hole. Read full review
60
The GuardianBenjamin LeeSep 11, 2022
The Menu might not nail some of the more substantial courses but it’ll do as a light snack. Read full review
58
The Film StageC.J. PrinceSep 22, 2022
There’s enjoyment to be had with The Menu, even if it amounts to echoes from the belly of the beast it’s targeting. Read full review
58
The PlaylistCharles BramescoSep 14, 2022
Everything on the menu of The Menu looks good enough, but once its moldy tirade against the one percent has been fully dished out, it’s plain to see there’s not a whole lot of meat on the bone here. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeJoy AshfordNov 17, 2022
The Menu might make you crave a hamburger or think twice before boarding a ferry to a private island with no cell service. But once the loose ends are tied up and the credits roll, it leaves you less than satisfied. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineWes GreeneNov 14, 2022
For as potent as the film’s shocks can be in the moment, it’s difficult to shake off that the screenplay lacks for the breadth of variety that’s necessary to make more than just a restaurant’s tasting menu take flight. Read full review
50
ColliderChase HutchinsonSep 11, 2022
For all the promise of its main cast and sturdy thriller premise, The Menu is a work that seems destined to slip from your mind. Read full review
20
Little White LiesDavid JenkinsNov 18, 2022
The pungent whiff of designer cynicism pervades every scene, so not only is it difficult to understand why these diners aren’t taking their business elsewhere (which they absolutely would do if they’re the capitalist scum we’re told they are), but it’s difficult to give two hoots as to whether they stay or go. Read full review
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