See Anya Taylor-Joy Run From A Crazed Chef In New Film
Anya Taylor-Joy loves to star in horror-tinged films and this new one featuring a very deadly meal looks weird and fantastic.
Since her debut role in Robert Eggers’ The Witch, Anya Taylor-Joy has been known for the intensity she brings to every role she plays and her ethereal beauty. In particular, the actress has seemed drawn to roles with a tinge of horror to them, whether it is Edgar Wright’s Swinging Sixties Giallo homage Last Night in Soho or the gothic X-Men movie The New Mutants. One of her next projects is certainly keeping to that theme, plus adding a little flavor to it: the upcoming comedy horror film The Menu. A full-length trailer was just released for the new film, check it out here:
The Menu stars Anya Taylor-Joy Margot, one half of a couple traveling to a remote, world-class restaurant on a mysterious island. Along with her boyfriend Tyler (Nicholas Hoult), she boards a ferry, being assured that only twelve diners would be partaking of the apparently exquisite dinner experience ahead of them. It is clear from the first seconds that Anya Taylor-Joy does not have quite the same appreciation for fine dining as the dopily enthusiastic Nicholas Hoult, chiding him for saying “mouth-feel” after savoring the mignonette on an amuse-bouche of golden roe in foam. Actually, it is hard to fault Anya Taylor-Joy for that one.
There is an increasing sense of unease as Anya Taylor-Joy is greeted on the island by Elsa (Hong Chau) and sees the ferry sail away, compounded by the exquisitely designed door of the restaurant firmly closing behind the assembled guests. Then we are introduced to Ralph Fiennes as the mysterious and intimidating Ralph Fiennes, and things really start to get weird.
From the looks of it, The Menu combines a little bit of the influential human-hunting story The Most Dangerous Game, some of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None in which strangers are assembled on an island for murder purposes, and a lot of haute cuisine molecular gastronomy restaurants like that of the remote, exclusive Spanish establishment El Bulli. In addition to Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, and Ralph Fiennes, the cast includes ringers like John Leguizamo, Judith Light, and Rob Yang.
While the tone of The Menu is undoubtedly focused on the flashes of horror we see (like Ralph Fiennes announcing that his chefs will give the diners a 45-second head start to run), there is a deep streak of very dark comedy there too (like one of the guests bursting into a run before the bemused Ralph Fiennes even has a chance to finish talking). The Menu is directed by Mark Mylod, who is best known for directing episodes of Game of Thrones, Succession, and Shameless. It was written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy, both of whom wrote for The Onion’s web series.
In addition to The Menu, Anya Taylor-Joy is set to star as the title character (taking over for Charlize Theron) in the Mad Max: Fury Road prequel Furiosa as well as the David O. Russell period piece Amsterdam and the CGI animation Mario film starring Chris Pratt.
