10 Shocking Food Movies That Make ‘The Menu’ Look Tame

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Starring Ralph Fiennes as Chef Julian Slowik and Anya Taylor-Joy as Margot, The Menu delivers a poignant take on consumerism and the divide between social classes. Outside the symbolism and social commentary, The Menu is also largely a movie about food, specifically the disturbing ways in which elites have turned fine dining into a grotesque display of wealth.

As disturbing as The Menu is, there are some other food-related movies that go even further. From films about man-eating vegetarians to murderous barbers, the entries on this list aren’t easy to stomach, but they’re definitely worth a watch.

10
‘Delicatessen’ (1991)

In a dystopian version of France where food is hard to come by, butcher Clapet (Jean-Claude Dreyfus) owns an apartment building that is constantly falling apart. He hires handymen to fix the building, only to later butcher them for their meat. But when his newest employee, Louison (Dominique Pinon), arrives, Clapet’s daughter Julie (Marie-Laure Dougnac) falls in love and teams up with the rebel vegetarian Troglodistes to save him.

Love at First Bite

Though darkly humorous, Delicatessen is also profoundly disturbing. Clapet’s murderous system isn’t opposed until the moment Louison arrives. This goes to show that the residents (including Julie) knew the system was wrong but still participated. Sure, they needed food, but as seen by the existence of the Troglodistes, it appears there was always another way.

9
‘The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover’ (1989)

When mobster Albert Spica (Michael Gambon) takes over Le Hollandais restaurant, he scares off staff and customers with his hostile behavior. This infuriates his wife, Georgina, who begins an affair with one of the restaurant regulars, a bookshop owner named Michael. When Spica learns of the affair, he has Michael violently killed, but Georgina refuses to let the act go unpunished and serves Spica an unforgettable meal.

Tasteless Behavior

Spica is far from a good guy, and the movie doesn’t hold back on showing it, which is why the film is known for its graphic violence. At the same time, it presents an interesting, uncomfortable critique on toxic relationships, infidelity, class division, and so much more. In short, most of the characters act in a tasteless manner, but it makes for a fulfilling watch.

8
‘Fresh’ (2022)

When she meets Steve (Sebastian Stan) at a supermarket, Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones) hopes her dating woes are a thing of the past. But after going with him on a weekend vacation, she finds herself drugged and held captive along with two other women. Steve reveals himself to be a cannibal butcher who also sells human meat to other cannibals. Fortunately, Noa’s friend Mollie (Jonica T. Gibbs) comes looking for her, but she won’t have long as Steve begins to butcher Noa alive.

A Critique of Dating Culture

Like The Menu, Fresh uses food to symbolically comment on a greater societal issue. Namely, it’s focused on the often predatory nature of dating culture. Of course, most dates don’t end with the person turned into food, but Fresh does a good job of showing how dating can make the dater feel like a piece of meat.

7
‘Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet’ (2007)

The Demon Barber Sweeney Todd, played by Johnny Depp, is on a mission to avenge his presumed-dead wife and to rescue his daughter, Johanna. Teaming up with Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), he’ll stop at nothing to take down the wicked Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman), who holds Johanna captive. But when he thinks Johanna has been lost for good, Sweeney decides to spare no one from his vengeance and begins turning his customers into meat pies.

Consumed by Revenge

Much in the same way the town consumes Mrs. Lovett’s meat pies, Sweeney Todd becomes consumed by revenge. He kills many people who arguably don’t deserve it, and he becomes so blinded by anger that Johanna herself is nearly one of his victims. If that weren’t already disturbing, the fact that the pies become such a success makes everything even darker.

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6
‘Piggy’ (2022)

Based on a short film, Piggy tells the story of Sara (Laura Galán), an overweight teen who is harassed by bullies who call her “Cerdita,” meaning piggy, or little pig. When her bullies are kidnapped, Sara has the chance to be rid of them for good. Their flirtatious kidnapper doesn’t make her decision any easier, and as the danger facing her bullies grows, she must decide whether to join in the violence or stop it.

Stomach Churning

The food themes in Piggy are far from subtle, from her father’s work as a butcher to her literally biting the girls’ kidnapper. Of course, there is also the connection between food and weight, and the bully’s mockery of her for said weight. All in all, Piggy is a disturbing watch, not just because of the themes of body horror and bullying, but also the fact that the audience isn’t always sure who to root for.

5
‘Red Dragon’ (2002)

The third film in the Hannibal franchise, Red Dragon is a prequel to both The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal. It follows Will Graham (Edward Norton) as he works with Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) to track down a new killer, Francis Dolarhyde (Ralph Fiennes), aka the Tooth Fairy. It’s slowly revealed that Dolarhyde has an alternate personality stemming from a painting (and years of abuse) that causes him to kill families—and his latest target is Graham’s own.

A Familiar Face

From the beginning scene in which Graham discovers one of Hannibal’s recipes for human-based sweetbreads to a scene in which Dolarhyde eats a painting, the presence of food in the movie is everywhere. Plus, it’s another movie starring Ralph Fiennes, who gives just as unsettling and laudable a performance as he does in The Menu.

4
‘The Stuff’ (1985)

Released in 1985, the satirical movie The Stuff focuses on a strange, sweet substance that becomes hugely popular across the US. Former FBI agent David “Mo” Rutherford is hired by several ice cream companies to look into what the Stuff is and how to stop it from selling. Mo soon learns that the Stuff is turning those who eat it into zombie-like creatures, and he must get the word out to the world before they’re eaten from the inside out.

The Perils of Consumerism

Regardless of whether some consider it more funny than scary, The Stuff is a straightforward, entertaining critique about consumerism gone too far. Ironically, toward the movie’s end, one of the ice cream leaders wants to mix the Stuff with his ice cream so that it’ll be more addictive but not kill those who eat it. The lesson has obviously not been learned, which might be even more disturbing than the Stuff itself.

3
‘Soylent Green’ (1973)

Released in 1973 and taking place in 2022, Soylent Green begins in a dystopian, overcrowded world where people subsist off of wafers called Soylent. When one of the board members of Soylent, William R. Simonson, is found dead, Detective Robert Thorn is called in to examine his murder. But as he unravels the mystery of Simonson’s death, a new mystery emerges concerning what Soylent Green is made of.

Soylent Green Is People

The famous line, “Soylent green is people” is hard to forget. So is the horrific world where Thorn and the other characters live. In many ways, the reveal that soylent green is made from people is not a surprise, as people largely aren’t treated as people there, but instead, something completely disposable—not unlike how the chefs were often overlooked and devalued in The Menu.

2
‘Raw’ (2017)

When Justine enrolls in veterinary school, she is clueless about the experiences that await her. As part of an initiation rite, a lifelong vegetarian like her is compelled to consume meat. However, this is just the beginning of the nightmare, as eating the meat triggers an insatiable hunger within her.

Societal Pressure Cooker

Food in Raw represents Justine’s desires, including her need to fit in. Much of the movie focuses on this attempt to straddle the line between wanting to be accepted and wanting to be herself. As the film progresses, Justine’s transformation is difficult to watch, but ultimately, it speaks to the pressures many young women face to conform to a role or reality that doesn’t suit them.

1
‘The Platform’ (2020)

The Platform begins when Goreng (Ivan Massagué) awakens in a strange building where a platform descends once per day. This platform holds enough food to feed everyone in the facility, but those on the top levels often take more than their fair share. This often leaves those below with only scraps, if anything at all, which forces them to resort to cannibalism, or else, be cannibalized.

The Next Course

Gruesome and brimming with unsettling implications, The Platform is a horrifying watch. It highlights the importance of food while also presenting it in a way that’s completely unappetizing. While the movie offers plenty of enjoyably uncomfortable scenes, The Platform’s sequel, The Platform 2, is arguably even more disturbing.

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2025-03-15 22:41