If you’ve ever participated in an elevated tasting menu that features all sorts of unusual and unique ingredients, you’ll enjoy that aspect of this film (the dishes were actually prepared by Michelin-starred chefs, sometimes with soupçon of spoof). Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult play 2 of a dozen guests who paid $1,225 for a gourmet dinner in a cool restaurant on a lonely island. For a reason that’s never explained, the chef (Ralph Fiennes) decides that this meal will have some unpleasant surprises. The mystery builds thru each course, perplexing the diners and us with the final courses and their accompanying explanations getting more weird and extreme. Luckily, the ensemble is full of strong performances and director Mark Mylod has kept it compelling even though some of the confusing elements are never resolved. Ultimately, it’s an adult thriller that’s more intriguing than suspenseful, but the hints of satire give it a darkly funny edge. Interestingly, Triangle of Sadness (my review) makes similar statements about the uber rich. 
(3.5 / 5)