There’s nothing quite like watching impossibly wealthy people have an absolutely dreadful evening, and this is a film that absolutely understands the assignment. Horror thrillers are particularly effective when they catch you off guard and deliver something that’s genuinely nasty, which is exactly what Successiondirector Mark Myloddid with this. Mylod brings Anya Taylor-Joyand Ralph Fiennes to the party in a cross between the high society of New York and something as horribly unsettling and uncomfortable as Midsommar.
The Menu follows our heroine Margot, played by ATJ, as she joins her pompous new boyfriend in traveling to an exclusive restaurant located out on a remote coastal island, run by the legendary celebrity chef Julian Slowik (Fiennes). But when they and the other wealthy guests sit down to discover the elaborate tasting menu, they soon discover that each course is going to become more dangerous than the last.
It’s an absolutely savage takedown of wealth, privilege, celebrity, foodie culture and influencers, delivered in about the most entertaining way imaginable. There are plenty of great twists along the way, too. And as much as we hate to admit it, the food looks incredible in almost every shot — but nothing comes close to that utterly beautiful-looking cheeseburger.
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Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
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🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
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01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
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02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
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03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
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04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
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05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
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06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
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07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
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08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
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Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
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The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
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You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
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You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
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You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
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Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
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You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
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The film also features Nicholas Hoult (Superman) as Tyler Ledford, Hong Chau (The Whale) as Elsa, Janet McTeer (Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning) as Lillian Bloom, John Leguizamo (The Green Veil) as The Movie Star, and Judith Light (Poker Face) as Anne Leibrandt. Director Mark Mylod will also be taking the reins on HBO’s new Harry Potterseries.
Produced for just $30 million dollars — one of those rare mid-budget thrillers we lament the loss of — The Menu earned $79.6 million worldwide, making it a genuine theatrical hit before becoming an even bigger favorite for audiences on streaming, who gorged on the brief running time, the sharp barbed insults, the genuinely interesting looking dishes and, of course, the cheeseburger. As for critical response, it holds an excellent 88% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes alongside a 76% audience score, with critics singling out Mylod’s direction, Fiennes’ fascinating façade and Taylor-Joy’s determined lead role. In the years since, it’s become widely considered one of the decade’s best horror hits.
The Menu is available to stream now on Disney+ and Hulu, while it’s charting on Apple TV globally.
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