What age is The Menu appropriate for?

The Menu is rated R and PopcornCheck recommends it for ages 17+, based on reading the actual screenplay. A sous-chef commits suicide on screen, a guest has his finger cut off as a warning, and multiple characters are murdered throughout the evening in graphic and disturbing ways.

Does The Menu have swearing or bad language?

The Menu has Extreme language. The f-word is used frequently throughout, approximately 30+ times

The Menu has Extreme violence. A sous-chef shoots himself in the head during dinner service in front of all guests

Is The Menu scary for children?

The Menu has Extreme scary scenes. The isolated island setting with no escape creates intense claustrophobic dread

What is the parents guide for The Menu?

The Menu (2022) is rated R. PopcornCheck recommends it for ages 17+. Violence: Extreme. Language: Extreme. Scary scenes: Extreme. Romance: Very Mild. Substances: Moderate. Watch recommendation: Fine alone — While disturbing, mature teens can handle the content and themes without parental guidance

Is The Menu OK for Kids?

Name: The Menu
Director: Mark Mylod
Genre: Comedy, Horror
Released: 2022
Duration: 107 min
Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Fiennes, Nicholas Hoult, Janet McTeer, Paul Adelstein

ComedyHorror

17+

R⭐ IMDb 7.2 / 102022 · 1h 47m

Mark Mylod● Script verifiedBased on a partial script

Where to Watch

United States

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Streaming data by JustWatch

What's In It

Based on the actual screenplay

⏳

We're re-reading this screenplay with our upgraded analysis. Scene-by-scene moment counts aren't available for The Menu yet — the summaries below are from our earlier read-through. Check back soon.

🗡️Violence

Extreme▼

A sous-chef shoots himself in the head during dinner service in front of all guests
A man has his finger cut off with a knife when he tries to leave, with blood and screaming shown
Multiple characters drown, hang themselves, and are stabbed to death on screen
The finale shows all remaining characters burned alive in a restaurant fire

💬Language

Extreme▼

The f-word is used frequently throughout, approximately 30+ times
Multiple uses of s**t, b**ch, and a**hole
Characters frequently use vulgar sexual language and crude insults
Profanity is often directed at service staff and used in aggressive confrontations

👻Scary Scenes

Extreme▼

The isolated island setting with no escape creates intense claustrophobic dread
Chef Slowik's increasingly unhinged behavior and psychological manipulation of guests
Sudden violent deaths occur without warning during what should be a pleasant dinner
The final sequence of people being burned alive is deeply disturbing and could cause nightmares

💕Romance

Very Mild▼

Brief references to sexual services and escort work
Some suggestive dialogue about relationships but no physical intimacy shown
No nudity or sexual scenes depicted

🍺Substances

Moderate▼

Wine and alcohol are served throughout the elaborate dinner courses
Multiple characters drink heavily, including one character described as alcoholic
Substance use is portrayed as part of high-end dining culture without consequences shown

⚡Stimulation

Moderate▼

Tension builds slowly through psychological manipulation rather than fast action
Sudden violent moments punctuate otherwise quiet dinner conversation
The pacing alternates between calm dialogue and shocking outbursts of violence

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The Menu — Heads Up for Parents

Despite being marketed as a dark comedy, the film contains genuinely disturbing scenes including an on-screen suicide and graphic finger amputation that may be more intense than the R rating suggests.

About The Menu

A young couple travels to a remote island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises. The celebrity chef Julian Slowik introduces increasingly unsettling courses before revealing that all guests will be dead by night's end as punishment for their roles in corrupting or exploiting the culinary arts. This is a dark psychological horror-thriller that satirizes elite dining culture.

✅

Fine for kids to watch alone

While disturbing, mature teens can handle the content and themes without parental guidance

Family Takeaways from The Menu

What it gets right

✓Critiques the excesses and pretensions of elite culture and wealth inequality
✓Shows how creativity can be corrupted when it becomes purely transactional
✓Margot's character demonstrates authenticity and working-class values triumphing over pretension

The Menu Cultural & Values Guide

Cultural & Values Guide

Faith & Religion

●Religious mockery depicted

Chef Slowik's ritualistic approach to fine dining and his treatment of cooking as a sacred art form deliberately parodies religious ceremony and devotion. The film mocks the pretentious reverence that both the chef and diners show toward haute cuisine as if it were a spiritual practice.

Cast:Anya Taylor-JoyRalph FiennesNicholas HoultJanet McTeerPaul Adelstein