Here's How To Watch The Menu At Home
The fine dining horror-satire "The Menu" might be wrapping up its final course in theaters soon, but if you missed it there, you'll soon be able to check it out at home. Think of it as a doggy bag to-go, only instead of getting pasta or steak to take home, you'll get multiple courses of chaos and some of the year's most delightfully sadistic performances instead.
Searchlight Pictures' "The Menu" was the talk of the festival circuit when it premiered this fall, building buzz at TIFF and Fantastic Fest before unleashing its perfectly planned dinner from hell on audiences just in time for Thanksgiving. /Film's own Chris Evangelista gave the film a positive review out of Toronto, saying that although not every moment pays off, "the set-up is sound, and the film is gloriously twisted."
If you haven't yet RSVPed yes to dinner at Hawthorne, the restaurant whose upscale clientele are in for a few surprises in the film, you'll definitely want to check out "The Menu" before its best surprises and moments get spoiled. Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, Hong Chau, John Leguizamo, and Judith Light all co-star alongside Ralph Fiennes in the film, which was written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy.
Despite the high-stakes premise, it's a fun movie with plenty of twists and turns, and once it hits digital, its best moments are sure to become memes and Film Twitter fodder. Luckily, the film is set for a home release in January, so you'll be able to tuck into its delicious thrills sooner rather than later — hopefully without getting spoiled.
The Menu hits digital and Blu-Ray in January
"The Menu" is set for a digital release on January 3, 2023, with a Blu-Ray and DVD combo pack release set to follow two weeks later. The digital version of the film will be here just in time to start the new year off with a wild first watch, but the physical release will include some promising-sounding bonus features that may be worth the wait.
The bonus features include three deleted scenes, but there's also a hearty meal's worth of behind-the-scenes looks at the film. The first, titled, "Open Kitchen: A Look Inside the Menu," takes viewers inside the film's take on the world of fine dining, with special attention to the film's chef consultants, script, cast, and filmmaker Mark Mylod's vision for the movie. The second feature is a walk-through of some of the "key ingredients" on "The Menu," per a press release, and it sounds pretty literal: it features interviews with Mylod as well as chefs and food stylists involved in the film.
Another special feature involves interviews with the cast and writers as well as a focus on production design, plus the film's "kitchen boot camp." Finally, in what Searchlight's press materials call the Dessert Course, viewers will get an up-close look at the film's memorable final sequence through the eyes of costume designer Amy Westcott.
Where is The Menu streaming?
The good news is, if you're not eager to buy "The Menu" immediately, you'll still be able to see it as soon as it's available on home video. Searchlight Pictures production will be available to stream on HBO Max starting on January 3 as well.
You might be wondering why the movie is coming to HBO Max first instead of Hulu, and that's because a previous deal between Searchlight Pictures and the streaming service is still active. The deal was in place before Disney acquired Fox, but when the acquisition was finalized, there was a tweak to the contract that allowed Hulu and Disney+ to get Fox movies a little bit earlier. So you might see "The Menu" heading over to Hulu sooner than later too.