The Menu

The trailer for The Menu is an exercise in precision. Directed by Mark Mylod and starring Ralph Fiennes (who’s starred in a wide filmography, from The Grand Budapest Hotel to the Harry Potter movies), the horror-inspired take on conceptual dining was bound to be different, and this trailer’s design follows suit.

The first clue that this is a horror trailer comes early: just five seconds in, a reverse cymbal-like sound congeals into Fiennes’ clap (as the chef). Cue Colin Stetson’s “Reborn”, originally composed for the soundtrack to Hereditary, a supernatural horror film by A24. For those who know it, it’s a shamelessly direct shortcut to the mood the editors mean to convey. At the same time, the editors must have felt that enough of the public wouldn’t pick up on its use for another horror film to the extent that it could be safely reused here. Or, they’re simply leveraging its recognizability as part of the contemporary horror music canon. So, like any other choice of music for a trailer, there’s a fine balance: if you recognize it, it adds a layer of meaning and context; if not, at least in theory it should serve its purpose as a genre-specific piece.

Stetson’s layered saxophones lend a sense of eerie calm until about the halfway 0:42 mark, underpinning the chef’s monologue and his guests’ largely inconsequential conversation. An abrupt shift in the tone, key, and timbre at 0:42 bring the horror element to the fore, with acerbic cello taking the lead, scraping and grunting in full bore, principally sticking to intervals of a minor second and third. Here, a new motif enters—a horror riff on the phrase “yes, chef!”, with newly sinister overtones. Various synch points, such as the scissors piecing meat at 0:56, further build the ominous atmosphere.

On another level, eschewing a bespoke soundtrack perhaps suggests a less than pressing commitment to the film’s horror identity; this idea is reinforced when at 1:18, the entire sequence is headed off by a casual question (“is this bergamot I’m getting?”), subverting expectations and turning the entire ordeal into a slight joke. It’s as though the trailer is suggesting, in an off-hand way, that oh—yes, it’s a comedy, as well. It’s horror, but with an undercurrent of fun—not unlike the twist that Knives Out lends to the mystery genre, for example.

The Menu reaches theatres November 18th, 2022.

— Curtis Perry