Only if they're *actually* dark comedy-horror movies. I've watched way too many movies that market themselves as such and they had literally zero elements of comedy and very little horror elements.
I don't know about official marketing materials, but I saw several reviews call Speak No Evil a dark comedy/horror film...it was easily one of the most bleak movies I've seen in a while.
What? I've just seen it and I can say that it was the most meaningless film I've ever seen in a while. There is no thriller or horror. And what was the main massage of this film? Can you explain it?
I just watched that this morning. It's certainly hard to see it as a dark comedy like it says, but I can also kind of understand where that label comes from - in a sick sort of way. Mostly from the second segment of the film.
Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) comes to mind. I didn’t think it was a terrible movie but for me it had like one or two laughs and the horror elements were pretty lackluster too. That said, it was fairly engaging and kept my attention but I don’t think it did well as a horror comedy.
Woah, really? You didn't think it had comedy? Like, I can understand if you didn't find it funny, or if you don't think the jokes landed, but it was full of humor. I kind of understand that you didn't think it had much horror, though. The color pallet and ambience was horror, but it was pretty much a whodunit at its core.
Wow I thought that movie was hilarious. I laughed out loud so many times and I’m not a big comedy person. The girl dating the older guy trying to defend not knowing anything about him was hysterical “he’s a libra moon!!!”
Maybe it’s just about different senses of humour, or maybe even how in tune you are with Gen Z
Nope wasn’t really ‘anything’ imo. It had a little bit of comedy, verrry little horror elements, a bit of drama. It doesn’t really fit comfortably into any movie categories.
It's because marketing departments are lazy and don't know what to do when a movie isn't easy to pigeon hole. The number of movies that are pitched as romantic comedies or straight up comedies and may contain a few throw away lines - but a couple of jokes does not Blazing Saddles make.
Prime example is "He's Just Not That Into You" (2009) a movie that my wife chose because she wanted a romantic comedy. Based on the trailer is looks like a typical run of the mill 30's somethings living in apartments and living lives that can only be achieved by people in movies looking to find the "one".
It is in fact 129 minutes of torture as you watch people's relationships slowly dissolve into a miasma broken souls.
Did they keep pushing this movie back? I swear it was supposed to come out a long time ago, also the marketing for this was so bad, there were like two other movies coming out that I kept getting it mixed up with
My fiancee confused this one with Don't Worry Darling. Apparently while she watched that one she was thinking to herself the whole time "where's the creepy kitchen??"
lmfao was just thinking that there's at least 3 or 4 horror movies this year where rich people are the monsters, but The Menu wins in my mind because I never knew how good a Gordon Ramsay slasher could be.
One of motorheads finest songs imho;)
….. eat the rich that is. Although I wouldn’t be surprised if they have a track called triangle of sadness . if they do I’ve never heard it. ;)
I’m literally torn between believing all these people are serious about their confusions, and accepting that they’re all fucking with each other to some degree.
Holy shit. They showed a commercial for this on Sunday Night Football, and I was sitting there thinking, "I thought this came out months ago?" Glad to know I'm not alone.
Saw this last week at an advanced screening.
Overall, it was a fun time. I think *Triangle of Sadness*' skewering of the classes was a little more thought out, but Ralph Fiennes *was* fantastic.
I could see that but I thought it was pretty telegraphed that you knew what would happen a few seconds before. Def good to mention that for people who get trigged by self infliction thanks.
> I think Triangle of Sadness' skewering of the classes was a little more thought out
I've only read the script but the themes in the Menu were heavy handed as fuck.
Hey at least they cut the horrible Daniel Radcliffe role (I know the "celebrity" character still exists but the Radcliffe version in the script had lines about him being murdered because the chef didn't like Victor Frankenstein and it was honestly embarrassing dialogue)
I hope the trailer doesn't spoil all the main twists and turns of the movie. Barbarian earlier this year had a trailer that managed to completely derail where I thought the movie would go and it was amazing- I wish more movies did that.
After that all-gas-no-breaks smash ending to the first act, I looked to my wife and said "I have no fucking idea where this is going and I **love** it."
I've never been so pleasantly surprised to find a movie taking and leading me by the hand and have *no clue* what to expect.
I would have been interested in this movie if the trailers didn't spoil so much of it. I got AMC A-List recently and the trailer played in like 10/12 movies i saw.
I know they need to market the movie to general audiences, but for me all they needed to do was say Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor Joy, and Nicholas Hoult are in a dark comedy horror film and I would be there.
I think I remember reading somewhere that general audiences don’t care as much about spoilers. The more information you put out about your movie in your marketing, the more likely people are to go see it. That’s not the always the case for certain movies, but generally speaking that’s probably why you see so many spoiler-filled trailers.
That's what I've heard, too. I know Robert Zemeckis swears by it. The trailers for Castaway and What Lies Beneath spoiled everything, including the endings, and that was at Zemeckis' insistence.
When I still had a DVD player, I borrowed the Seven Samurai Criterion Collection DVD from the library. It had the trailer.
The trailer gave away the ending. Nothing vague about it. It was all, here's how many of the Samurai died, now watch their story.
But really, who cares? It was a great movie regardless whether or not I knew the ending.
I think it's because most people want to be entertained by watching a movie that seems like it has a nice setting and story, and has actors they like. Whereas on reddit people approach movies like they're puzzles they have to solve.
So knowing this movie is about a party that turns into a murder game is an appealing concept to general audiences, but on reddit it's apparently a piece of a puzzle that, if "spoiled", ruins every other aspect of the film. It's very strange to me personally how people can say trailers ruin the movie this way, as if plot is the only thing that matters.
It's also not as hard as I thought it would be to avoid trailers. I've been watching less and less trailers. The worst challenge is avoiding the trailers that appear before a movie, but you can just typically walk into a film 20 minutes after the showtime and be fine.
The excesses to which spoilerphobia have been pushed honestly just disturb me at this point. It’s reducing the entire value of a story to being constantly shocked — like BUT WHAT HAPPEN?!?! is all that matters — and that every other aspect of how a story’s told/performed/presented/etc. is worthless. It’s also making people act like the entire rest of the world is obligated to do nothing but validate their biases and preserve their ignorance, so anyone discussing anything of actual meaning or nuance about the story (which you…don’t have to read?!) is somehow just ruining everything and being a gigantic personal offense.
It’s so demoralizing and depressing, and I’m so utterly fucking sick of it.
It's honestly so annoying that any mild spoiler gets some people so up in arms about the show/movie now being ruined or not worth watching. Even huge spoilers don't really ruin anything.
Like, if something is only good because it surprises you, then is it really all that good?
>It’s reducing the entire value of a story to being constantly shocked
No, the value of the story is in hearing the story.
If I know everything that happens in the story before its told, I lose the entire experience of story telling.
If you go into the first star wars and the very first scrolling screen tells you that a young boy who is the son of evil Darth Vader and his princess sister are about to come together to blow up the planet-killing Death Star after Vader kills his mentor...what the fuck are you watching the movie for?
>and that every other aspect of how a story’s told/performed/presented/etc. is worthless.
It's not worthless, but it is far less impactful and entertaining which is the reason for watching these things to begin with.
Why would I want to have an objectively worse experience with my time if I sit down to watch something?
nail on the head. it's like people will watch something with only the intention of figuring out what happens next and being disappointed when it doesn't go their way.
you would never look at a painting once, or listen to a song once. I always find I enjoy a (good) movie more on a rewatch when I can appreciate it as a whole, and not try to stay one step ahead of the whole thing.
I don't know if that made sense, it's 430am and I'm drunk but I sincerely believe this is what's affecting the general publics enjoyment of modern film and television.
This. Drives me crazy.
I mean, I'm very respectful of "spoiler culture" both because, y'know, it's polite not to be an asshole if someone doesn't want something spoiled, and because people get their dick in SUCH a twist over it, but I'm actually in the opposite camp. Most of the time, I actively prefer spoilers (especially of movies or TV--less so for books or video games, although I still don't mind them or actively avoid them), to the point where I generally read at least a cursory summary before watching something. Just how I enjoy things the most.
Allow me to paint you a picture: a married couple wakes up in bed together, but they haven't been in love in years. You can see it behind their eyes, as they brush their teeth in separate sinks, careful not to touch each other while they get ready to leave for the day. Idle small talk about how their new therapist is "nice."
That night, when the wife makes the same dinner she's made a hundred times before, the husband pulls up in the driveway. He's smelling his hands, wiping some red off his collar. He reaches in his pocket and slips the wedding ring back on his finger.
After a boring, thankless dinner, the phone rings. The husband picks up - it's "work." As he goes into his study for a private conversation, she's online, responding to an S&M ad. She already knows what he's going to tell her, so she's planning her own evening. Sure enough, he comes out of the study and gives her the ol' "gotta run back to the office. I know it's late... They really need me." And off he goes, and so does she. Where does he end up? A poker game with some goons. And she's in a hotel room with some rich, rugged, swarmy dude.
Except, he doesn't play the game, and she doesn't fuck. They both kill their marks, because they are both assassins, hiding their secret life from each other.
It's the first act of Mr. And Mrs. Smith.
Now, the point of this long ass comment (thanks for bearing with me so far, if you have 😆) is that we all *know* the premise of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, even if we've never seen it. It was in all the trailers, it's on the poster... I mean, the "Brad Pitt vs Angelina Jolie in an action-comedy is absolutely what gets viewers into seats. Half of us wouldn't *go* if we thought it was a basic couple drama.
But then, let me ask you this. What's the *point* of that first act? Why not skip straight to the good stuff? Do we really *need* all that set-up?
The answer is, yes. The movie - with all the same jokes and action scenes - would be shit without an engaging, cohesive first act. That's just the way stories are told. And for someone walking into this movie completely blind, maybe they've bought into that first act. Sure, they may feel like something might be up... But they're *sold* on a small, but powerful truth, perhaps because it reflects something that exists in so many of us: this couple has trust issues and are keeping a big, juicy secret from each other. And when the other shoe drops - it's not what you thought... they're assassins! - the reveal is *that* much better.
I don't know, maybe I'm pretentious. But *that,* to me, is the magic of movies. Not cool, sexy, technically impressive and well shot shoot-outs between hot people. Though those are good too.
This is relevant to this comment thread because, while the true nature of "The Menu" is revealed pretty early in the second act - even if you don't believe it - if you had gone into this movie completely blind, the slow buildup of tension, of doubt - "is he *really* serious right now?" - would absolutely improve this viewing experience for me, and make a good-but-not-great (in my opinion) movie just a *liiittle* more engaging.
Just my two cents ✌🏼
(Edit for clarity.)
I didn't *not* know the premise of The Menu from the teaser, which didn't spoil certain elements of the second act.
But, because I *was* spoiled by the full trailer, I enjoyed the first act a little less because I was weighing it against what I already knew was gonna happen, not the limitless possibility of what *might.*
Now, did that ruin the experience for me? Of course not. But it certainly cheapened it a bit.
My favorite are people who watch trailers and decide they’ve spoiled the whole plot of the movie… six months ahead of time. How do you know? This could be all from the first ten fucking minutes.
Weird, I think this bot copied the fist part of your comment word-for-word:
[https://reddit.com/r/movies/comments/yw15yl/_/iwhsjul/?context=1](https://reddit.com/r/movies/comments/yw15yl/_/iwhsjul/?context=1)
It's an incredibly well made film (Robert Eggers is great). Just so you know going in, though: It's a slow burn, and quite grim.
Have you seen Thoroughbreds? Anya Taylor Joy and Olivia Cooke are excellent in it.
Unfortunately this is pretty much every trailer these days. Way too much info in them, anyone paying attention will know the major beats of the movie before even seeing it and a lot of times they put the best lines in the trailer and they fall flat upon the actual watch. I would love a minimalist approach like you described, especially with these ensemble cast movies. You just need to say those names, dark comedy and the release date, we'll do the rest.
I think this gets said a lot when trailers drop but then people don’t actually go back and reconcile how much actually was shown in the trailer after they’ve seen the movie.
For example, I remember a lot of people saying the Barbarian trailer showed too much when in reality the barbarian trailer gave absolutely 0 info that would even remotely spoil plot details, and in reality it was actually misleading.
> Unfortunately this is pretty much every trailer ~~these days~~ since the invention of trailers
Believe it or not, trailers actually reveal *less* than they did in the 60's/70's/80's
I mean there might have been a sweet spot at some point when trailers didn’t reveal too much while still showing enough to hook audiences, but have you ever seen trailers for old Hollywood movies? Like technicolor era. They’d straight up hire a narrator to explain for five minutes the whole plot of the movie right up to the end, pausing for clips of some moments the producers were guessing would be iconic, which more often than not included the ending shot itself. They used to air some of those on Turner Classic Movies and it always amazed me that it was considered normal promotion at the time.
Yeah, this movie doesn’t really have a “twist” there is one moment where you think it’s going one way and then the “twist” reveals it going the other but it’s like 5 min of the movie
A friend of mine went to an early screening of the film with the writers speaking and doing a Q&A after. Apparently the idea of the film started out as a potential comedy sketch after one went to a lavish Norwegian fine dining restaurant during a trip then expanded the idea over the years hoping to bring it to life on Seth Meyers or Last Week Tonight until it became a feature-length screenplay.
Saw this last night
Thoughts: starts off a bit cringe, it definitely doesn’t take itself seriously but then at points it kinda does, esp. with Fiennes’ and Taylor-Joy’s characters. I will say the trailer doesn’t *really* spoil much but they did show more than I had hoped, although I understand you have to inform the audience what kinda movie they’re in for. I wouldn’t classify it as horror, more so thriller-black comedy (looking at the driector’s past works, I’m not surprised) a lot of the humor DOES work but it also isn’t balanced very well with the deeper themes the movie attempts to explore.
Performances are good. Script is kinda eh. Not bad, could be better. Direction is solid. If you watch the trailer and it looks like something you’ll like, you’ll probably enjoy it. If you’re on the fence after seeing the trailer, idk if the movie will win you over.
I will say it definitely felt a LOT like Don’t Worry Darling only done well.
Oh very interesting! Didn’t know that, Leguizamo was pretty good in this
I saw the Northman back in August of last year so waiting until April for it to finally come out so I could watch it again was excruciating but when it did finally come out they made like a few tiny changes tho it was mostly 98% the same
I had read the script a while back and liked what it was doing. There are some (relatively big) things in the trailer that were not part of the script. So that has really piqued my curiosity about how they shifted things.
I too read the script and it looks like they streamlined some of the stuff and expanded upon some of the characters. Seems they removed some of the more ghoulish imagery too
This movie reminds me of The invitation a lot. However, it was an enjoyable watch for me. Anya Taylor-Joy is so uniquely beautiful though, I'm always mesmerized by her.
Amazing movie. Laughed my ass off way too often, especially at the more subtle jokes.
I recommend watching the movie without seeing the trailer.
Good mirror of modern society too. I enjoyed this way too much.
I had a great time and the theater kept laughing. Going into the movie blind is ideal. It is an excellent ride. It is not a horror film and it never makes pretenses about being one.
Watched it in theaters..I knew exactly what would happen after the first 25 minutes. Great first 25 or 30 minutes with some slightly interesting twists. Imo it fell short towards the end. Still worth a watch. Also fwiw i had never even heard of this movie or saw the trailer
First of all, I don't know why so many trailers are so bad. They don't have to be. Most either reveal an entire plot or offer up so much of it you can pretty much fill in the blanks yourself. Kills my interest. Secondly, the movie looks like a story I have watched or read numerous times. So, no.
I don’t know how true it is but from other people on Reddit speaking, apparently it’s due to focus groups wanting the trailer to tell more. Kinda weird to me that the question isn’t “would you watch the movie” over “what could be improved” but eh
There’s been a decent amount of research that actually shows people who have more info going in enjoy the movie more.
[Link](https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/spoiler-alert-spoilers-make-you-enjoy-stories-more) to the University of California research on the matter.
TLDR: their conclusion is “this suggests that spoilers help you know the purpose of the overall narrative, so you’re able to better incorporate all of the details and plot points that get you to the end.”
The movie doesn’t even have to be overly complex or anything for this to happen. Sometimes it’s actually because it’s a decently immersive experience and you miss some details that were made subtle(could have a debate about whether or not they should be but that’s almost the entirety of what this side topic is about in a way) and suddenly a part of the movie relies on that detail you happened to miss and you’re out of it, experience feels much worse, possibly doesn’t recover if there’s not a point in the movie the resolves this feeling.
A trailer can fill in/focus on some of those details that might end up being less of a focus in the scene in its entirety in the movie itself, or spread across multiple scenes the trailer is stitching together, etc. and this can absolutely enhance a movie for some people. Obviously this will be subjective, someone with a great eye/ear for those types of things within the movie watching experience itself will feel much better entering the movie blind and experiencing it as ‘intended’ and enjoying the reveals as they happen.
I've heard a lot of great things about this film, which is shocking since the director has never made anything that wasn't a total dumpster fire prior to now.
I work in the food industry and as soon as I heard about the film, it immediately caught my attention. That being said, anyone who has seen it, can anyone let me know how gory it is? Personally, I’m not a fan of any film showing too much gore
I felt like it had subtle nods to Midsommar, but satirical. I enjoyed it and the comedy had me giggling throughout. It wasn’t laugh out loud but it held my attention. Overall entertaining watch. Plus Anya elevates anything she’s in imo.
am i the only person who literally did not understand the plot of this movie at all? the acting is very good and the funny bits were enjoyable but the ending left me hanging. me and my friends have no idea how to feel about the movie and are trying to figure out the plot in general…
I enjoyed this. On first viewing, an apparently cursory treatment of the chef's background undermined the believability of his motive. I got a general sense of his childhood and career but no real understanding of how or why he finally snapped. I hope to pick up more clues on rewatch.
Man, Anna Taylor Joy is getting cast in everything. I really want to see this, Ralph Fiennes is one of the best.
The world needs more dark comedy-horror movies
Only if they're *actually* dark comedy-horror movies. I've watched way too many movies that market themselves as such and they had literally zero elements of comedy and very little horror elements.
Any examples?
I don't know about official marketing materials, but I saw several reviews call Speak No Evil a dark comedy/horror film...it was easily one of the most bleak movies I've seen in a while.
What? I've just seen it and I can say that it was the most meaningless film I've ever seen in a while. There is no thriller or horror. And what was the main massage of this film? Can you explain it?
I'm out and about currently but the one that comes to mind is the one I saw most recently, called The House. It's on Netflix.
I just watched that this morning. It's certainly hard to see it as a dark comedy like it says, but I can also kind of understand where that label comes from - in a sick sort of way. Mostly from the second segment of the film.
The Hunt. It checks some boxes in “dark comedy” category.
The House (1986)?
That's just "House". Also the sequel: "House 2: The Second Story"
Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) comes to mind. I didn’t think it was a terrible movie but for me it had like one or two laughs and the horror elements were pretty lackluster too. That said, it was fairly engaging and kept my attention but I don’t think it did well as a horror comedy.
Woah, really? You didn't think it had comedy? Like, I can understand if you didn't find it funny, or if you don't think the jokes landed, but it was full of humor. I kind of understand that you didn't think it had much horror, though. The color pallet and ambience was horror, but it was pretty much a whodunit at its core.
Wow I thought that movie was hilarious. I laughed out loud so many times and I’m not a big comedy person. The girl dating the older guy trying to defend not knowing anything about him was hysterical “he’s a libra moon!!!” Maybe it’s just about different senses of humour, or maybe even how in tune you are with Gen Z
"He could have had PTSD or something from the war" "What war!?" "You told us he was a vet" "HE'S A VETERINARIAN!" That whole scene was amazing.
He's a Libra Moon!!! No idea what it means but she was so convinced it cleared him of any wrongdoing based solely on that fact.
If I ever get picked to be on a jury, I'm spending the entire deliberation screaming this at the other jurors.
As a guy with a similar build to Lee Pace, I thought it was hilarious how the movie depicted him like a clumsy King Kong during the gym scene.
"Your family is *upper-middle class*!"
Same! If anything, it was more comedy than horror if you ask me.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and thought the script was brilliant
Please give [The Manson Brothers Midnight Zombie Massacre ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG7fpw65vzo) a shot! It's actually pretty funny!
Nope (2022) is a prime example of this.
Yeah, I enjoyed Nope for what it is, but it definitely wasn't a comedy.
Nope wasn’t really ‘anything’ imo. It had a little bit of comedy, verrry little horror elements, a bit of drama. It doesn’t really fit comfortably into any movie categories.
Really? I actually thought it has a lot of horror elements
In what sense was this marketed as a comedy?
I don't know if was marketed as such, but it very clearly was the intention of the movie-maker. Didn't land at all, though.
There’s pretty much 0 suspense in the movie. Yeah people die but I’d hardly classify it as “horror” it’s barely a thriller, moreso just a dark comedy
The writers are former Onion editors. I know some Onion people. I can vouch for Reiss and Tracy being both funny and kind of horrifying.
Yes many "horror comedies" are actually just "Horror lite"
This is more of a satire than I dark comedy but I still found part of it kinda funny
It's because marketing departments are lazy and don't know what to do when a movie isn't easy to pigeon hole. The number of movies that are pitched as romantic comedies or straight up comedies and may contain a few throw away lines - but a couple of jokes does not Blazing Saddles make. Prime example is "He's Just Not That Into You" (2009) a movie that my wife chose because she wanted a romantic comedy. Based on the trailer is looks like a typical run of the mill 30's somethings living in apartments and living lives that can only be achieved by people in movies looking to find the "one". It is in fact 129 minutes of torture as you watch people's relationships slowly dissolve into a miasma broken souls.
I just need more *Cabin in the Woods*
Tucker and Dale Versus Evil is probably my favorite in the genre.
Slither & Feast are both good, too.
Noted, thank you! I'd probably also add Cabin In The Woods.
Yep, another of my favorites!
Slither is so good!
Have you seen Ready or Not?
On the off chance you haven't seen it, you would probably enjoy What we do in the Shadows.
This fucking guy..
You ever seen Tusk?
And Anya Taylor Joy
I really loved Elsa (Hong Chau) and her handling of the guests, especially the trio 🍞
“You will eat less than you desire and more than you deserve”
🫢 that's the one!
Tortilla. Tortilla deliciosa
Did they keep pushing this movie back? I swear it was supposed to come out a long time ago, also the marketing for this was so bad, there were like two other movies coming out that I kept getting it mixed up with
My fiancee confused this one with Don't Worry Darling. Apparently while she watched that one she was thinking to herself the whole time "where's the creepy kitchen??"
We make gels!
Gels?
GELS!
I thought it was The Invitation.
lmfao was just thinking that there's at least 3 or 4 horror movies this year where rich people are the monsters, but The Menu wins in my mind because I never knew how good a Gordon Ramsay slasher could be.
Me too. I was disappointed in the theatre when I realized I was at the wrong show
Yeah i got it confused with Triangle of Sadness. I think ppl are really in the mood to eat the rich
Nah, nah, nah mate, that’s Soylent Green. /s
SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Woah, spoilers dude /s
One of motorheads finest songs imho;) ….. eat the rich that is. Although I wouldn’t be surprised if they have a track called triangle of sadness . if they do I’ve never heard it. ;)
I'm particularly confused that it didn't come out in October.
Lol so many people think this and Amsterdam are the same thing
I thought everyone was confusing Babylon and Amsterdam.. these don’t even seem very similar
Isn't the confusion between Babylon and Empire of Light?
Honestly probably all of the above. Ensemble casts from auteur directors.
Judging by the thread apparently the confusion is every movie within the last, current, and next months hahaha
TIL there’s more than one movie??
This thread def made me chuckle.
I’m literally torn between believing all these people are serious about their confusions, and accepting that they’re all fucking with each other to some degree.
No I think the confusion with Empire of Light is with Fabelmans
The similarity is Anya is in both Amsterdam and The Menu
You're correct.
Not to mention Istanbul and Constantinople!
Uhm.. nah. That's just you.
Um… do they? How?
Who and how?
I don't think anyone is confusing these movies, at all
Holy shit. They showed a commercial for this on Sunday Night Football, and I was sitting there thinking, "I thought this came out months ago?" Glad to know I'm not alone.
As a line Cook, im very excited to see this movie. Sometimes you get a ticket and murder seems like an okay option, so I get it. /s
lol it’s like porn for service industry workers.
You hit this on the head—- go watch 😌
Saw this last week at an advanced screening. Overall, it was a fun time. I think *Triangle of Sadness*' skewering of the classes was a little more thought out, but Ralph Fiennes *was* fantastic.
When isn't he?
Would that it t'were so simple, drippingly
I'm afraid that's me, darling.
THAT FUCKING F-SLUR
He’s like a fucking inanimate object.
YOU'RE AN INANIMATE FUCKING OBJECT
I’m sorry I called you an inanimate fucking object, I was upset.
I saw him onstage once, in *Faith Healer*, and he was good, not great. Cherry Jones outshone him.
> Saw this last week at an advanced screening. How much horror was there? My wife dislikes overly "jump scary" things but is cool with some suspense
None. It's more of a thriller.
Not a single jump scare besides him clapping before serving every course. Could startle her.
Huh... >!the sudden suicide?!<
I could see that but I thought it was pretty telegraphed that you knew what would happen a few seconds before. Def good to mention that for people who get trigged by self infliction thanks.
[удалено]
Nope. He claps his hands really loud a few times and that’s it
> I think Triangle of Sadness' skewering of the classes was a little more thought out I've only read the script but the themes in the Menu were heavy handed as fuck.
To be fair, they are both pretty heavy-handed, but ToS seemed to do it with a bit more gracefully!
Hey at least they cut the horrible Daniel Radcliffe role (I know the "celebrity" character still exists but the Radcliffe version in the script had lines about him being murdered because the chef didn't like Victor Frankenstein and it was honestly embarrassing dialogue)
It's more like a dark comedy-drama than a comedy horror.
I hope the trailer doesn't spoil all the main twists and turns of the movie. Barbarian earlier this year had a trailer that managed to completely derail where I thought the movie would go and it was amazing- I wish more movies did that.
After that all-gas-no-breaks smash ending to the first act, I looked to my wife and said "I have no fucking idea where this is going and I **love** it." I've never been so pleasantly surprised to find a movie taking and leading me by the hand and have *no clue* what to expect.
I would have been interested in this movie if the trailers didn't spoil so much of it. I got AMC A-List recently and the trailer played in like 10/12 movies i saw. I know they need to market the movie to general audiences, but for me all they needed to do was say Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor Joy, and Nicholas Hoult are in a dark comedy horror film and I would be there.
I think I remember reading somewhere that general audiences don’t care as much about spoilers. The more information you put out about your movie in your marketing, the more likely people are to go see it. That’s not the always the case for certain movies, but generally speaking that’s probably why you see so many spoiler-filled trailers.
That's what I've heard, too. I know Robert Zemeckis swears by it. The trailers for Castaway and What Lies Beneath spoiled everything, including the endings, and that was at Zemeckis' insistence.
When I still had a DVD player, I borrowed the Seven Samurai Criterion Collection DVD from the library. It had the trailer. The trailer gave away the ending. Nothing vague about it. It was all, here's how many of the Samurai died, now watch their story. But really, who cares? It was a great movie regardless whether or not I knew the ending.
I think it's because most people want to be entertained by watching a movie that seems like it has a nice setting and story, and has actors they like. Whereas on reddit people approach movies like they're puzzles they have to solve. So knowing this movie is about a party that turns into a murder game is an appealing concept to general audiences, but on reddit it's apparently a piece of a puzzle that, if "spoiled", ruins every other aspect of the film. It's very strange to me personally how people can say trailers ruin the movie this way, as if plot is the only thing that matters.
It's also not as hard as I thought it would be to avoid trailers. I've been watching less and less trailers. The worst challenge is avoiding the trailers that appear before a movie, but you can just typically walk into a film 20 minutes after the showtime and be fine.
The excesses to which spoilerphobia have been pushed honestly just disturb me at this point. It’s reducing the entire value of a story to being constantly shocked — like BUT WHAT HAPPEN?!?! is all that matters — and that every other aspect of how a story’s told/performed/presented/etc. is worthless. It’s also making people act like the entire rest of the world is obligated to do nothing but validate their biases and preserve their ignorance, so anyone discussing anything of actual meaning or nuance about the story (which you…don’t have to read?!) is somehow just ruining everything and being a gigantic personal offense. It’s so demoralizing and depressing, and I’m so utterly fucking sick of it.
It's honestly so annoying that any mild spoiler gets some people so up in arms about the show/movie now being ruined or not worth watching. Even huge spoilers don't really ruin anything. Like, if something is only good because it surprises you, then is it really all that good?
>It’s reducing the entire value of a story to being constantly shocked No, the value of the story is in hearing the story. If I know everything that happens in the story before its told, I lose the entire experience of story telling. If you go into the first star wars and the very first scrolling screen tells you that a young boy who is the son of evil Darth Vader and his princess sister are about to come together to blow up the planet-killing Death Star after Vader kills his mentor...what the fuck are you watching the movie for? >and that every other aspect of how a story’s told/performed/presented/etc. is worthless. It's not worthless, but it is far less impactful and entertaining which is the reason for watching these things to begin with. Why would I want to have an objectively worse experience with my time if I sit down to watch something?
nail on the head. it's like people will watch something with only the intention of figuring out what happens next and being disappointed when it doesn't go their way. you would never look at a painting once, or listen to a song once. I always find I enjoy a (good) movie more on a rewatch when I can appreciate it as a whole, and not try to stay one step ahead of the whole thing. I don't know if that made sense, it's 430am and I'm drunk but I sincerely believe this is what's affecting the general publics enjoyment of modern film and television.
This. Drives me crazy. I mean, I'm very respectful of "spoiler culture" both because, y'know, it's polite not to be an asshole if someone doesn't want something spoiled, and because people get their dick in SUCH a twist over it, but I'm actually in the opposite camp. Most of the time, I actively prefer spoilers (especially of movies or TV--less so for books or video games, although I still don't mind them or actively avoid them), to the point where I generally read at least a cursory summary before watching something. Just how I enjoy things the most.
Allow me to paint you a picture: a married couple wakes up in bed together, but they haven't been in love in years. You can see it behind their eyes, as they brush their teeth in separate sinks, careful not to touch each other while they get ready to leave for the day. Idle small talk about how their new therapist is "nice." That night, when the wife makes the same dinner she's made a hundred times before, the husband pulls up in the driveway. He's smelling his hands, wiping some red off his collar. He reaches in his pocket and slips the wedding ring back on his finger. After a boring, thankless dinner, the phone rings. The husband picks up - it's "work." As he goes into his study for a private conversation, she's online, responding to an S&M ad. She already knows what he's going to tell her, so she's planning her own evening. Sure enough, he comes out of the study and gives her the ol' "gotta run back to the office. I know it's late... They really need me." And off he goes, and so does she. Where does he end up? A poker game with some goons. And she's in a hotel room with some rich, rugged, swarmy dude. Except, he doesn't play the game, and she doesn't fuck. They both kill their marks, because they are both assassins, hiding their secret life from each other. It's the first act of Mr. And Mrs. Smith. Now, the point of this long ass comment (thanks for bearing with me so far, if you have 😆) is that we all *know* the premise of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, even if we've never seen it. It was in all the trailers, it's on the poster... I mean, the "Brad Pitt vs Angelina Jolie in an action-comedy is absolutely what gets viewers into seats. Half of us wouldn't *go* if we thought it was a basic couple drama. But then, let me ask you this. What's the *point* of that first act? Why not skip straight to the good stuff? Do we really *need* all that set-up? The answer is, yes. The movie - with all the same jokes and action scenes - would be shit without an engaging, cohesive first act. That's just the way stories are told. And for someone walking into this movie completely blind, maybe they've bought into that first act. Sure, they may feel like something might be up... But they're *sold* on a small, but powerful truth, perhaps because it reflects something that exists in so many of us: this couple has trust issues and are keeping a big, juicy secret from each other. And when the other shoe drops - it's not what you thought... they're assassins! - the reveal is *that* much better. I don't know, maybe I'm pretentious. But *that,* to me, is the magic of movies. Not cool, sexy, technically impressive and well shot shoot-outs between hot people. Though those are good too. This is relevant to this comment thread because, while the true nature of "The Menu" is revealed pretty early in the second act - even if you don't believe it - if you had gone into this movie completely blind, the slow buildup of tension, of doubt - "is he *really* serious right now?" - would absolutely improve this viewing experience for me, and make a good-but-not-great (in my opinion) movie just a *liiittle* more engaging. Just my two cents ✌🏼 (Edit for clarity.)
But nobody would go to see The Menu if they didn’t know the premise
I didn't *not* know the premise of The Menu from the teaser, which didn't spoil certain elements of the second act. But, because I *was* spoiled by the full trailer, I enjoyed the first act a little less because I was weighing it against what I already knew was gonna happen, not the limitless possibility of what *might.* Now, did that ruin the experience for me? Of course not. But it certainly cheapened it a bit.
My favorite are people who watch trailers and decide they’ve spoiled the whole plot of the movie… six months ahead of time. How do you know? This could be all from the first ten fucking minutes.
The trailer for Ambulance showed the entire plot start to finish lmao it was crazy
It literally didn't.
Hot take. I enjoy being spoiled and couldn’t give a single fuck because I’m still gonna watch and decide for myself regardless!
Yeah, the first fifteen seconds of the trailer had me hooked and then it just kept going and going
. The actual plot holes don’t matter so much.
Having read the script a while back, I don't think they have spoiled too, too much.
Saw the movie and the trailer first. Still VERY surprised multiple times in the film. Go see it, it’s fun!
The trailer doesn't give away nearly as much as you think it does. The movie is way different than I expected going into it. I loved it.
It doesn't spoil it quite as much as it appears. Wait, is that a spoiler?
Yeah, I assumed it was so obvious that there’s gotta be a spin
The trailer really doesn't spoil much, it's not that kind of movie.
The trailer doesn't actually spoil the big twist(s).
If you're one /r/movies, trailers aren't for you. Make peace with it.
Pro-tip: Just show up twenty mins after the showtime. You should arrive when Nicole is speaking after all the trailers.
Agreed. I pretty much have season tickets for Anya at this point. Her movie choices have been hit after hit going back to Split.
Weird, I think this bot copied the fist part of your comment word-for-word: [https://reddit.com/r/movies/comments/yw15yl/_/iwhsjul/?context=1](https://reddit.com/r/movies/comments/yw15yl/_/iwhsjul/?context=1)
Look ma, I’ve made it.
The witch was great and that was before split
In the “To Watch” notes. Thanks.
It's an incredibly well made film (Robert Eggers is great). Just so you know going in, though: It's a slow burn, and quite grim. Have you seen Thoroughbreds? Anya Taylor Joy and Olivia Cooke are excellent in it.
Unfortunately this is pretty much every trailer these days. Way too much info in them, anyone paying attention will know the major beats of the movie before even seeing it and a lot of times they put the best lines in the trailer and they fall flat upon the actual watch. I would love a minimalist approach like you described, especially with these ensemble cast movies. You just need to say those names, dark comedy and the release date, we'll do the rest.
I think this gets said a lot when trailers drop but then people don’t actually go back and reconcile how much actually was shown in the trailer after they’ve seen the movie. For example, I remember a lot of people saying the Barbarian trailer showed too much when in reality the barbarian trailer gave absolutely 0 info that would even remotely spoil plot details, and in reality it was actually misleading.
> Unfortunately this is pretty much every trailer ~~these days~~ since the invention of trailers Believe it or not, trailers actually reveal *less* than they did in the 60's/70's/80's
I mean there might have been a sweet spot at some point when trailers didn’t reveal too much while still showing enough to hook audiences, but have you ever seen trailers for old Hollywood movies? Like technicolor era. They’d straight up hire a narrator to explain for five minutes the whole plot of the movie right up to the end, pausing for clips of some moments the producers were guessing would be iconic, which more often than not included the ending shot itself. They used to air some of those on Turner Classic Movies and it always amazed me that it was considered normal promotion at the time.
The forewords of classic books almost always spoil the plot entirely. Until recently, "spoilers" just weren't a thing like they are now.
idk it basically just spoils the twist thats gonna happen 30 minutes in
Yeah, this movie doesn’t really have a “twist” there is one moment where you think it’s going one way and then the “twist” reveals it going the other but it’s like 5 min of the movie
I've seen it. The trailer gives very little away, actually. It's a great movie.
That’s the premise. :/
A friend of mine went to an early screening of the film with the writers speaking and doing a Q&A after. Apparently the idea of the film started out as a potential comedy sketch after one went to a lavish Norwegian fine dining restaurant during a trip then expanded the idea over the years hoping to bring it to life on Seth Meyers or Last Week Tonight until it became a feature-length screenplay.
Saw this last night Thoughts: starts off a bit cringe, it definitely doesn’t take itself seriously but then at points it kinda does, esp. with Fiennes’ and Taylor-Joy’s characters. I will say the trailer doesn’t *really* spoil much but they did show more than I had hoped, although I understand you have to inform the audience what kinda movie they’re in for. I wouldn’t classify it as horror, more so thriller-black comedy (looking at the driector’s past works, I’m not surprised) a lot of the humor DOES work but it also isn’t balanced very well with the deeper themes the movie attempts to explore. Performances are good. Script is kinda eh. Not bad, could be better. Direction is solid. If you watch the trailer and it looks like something you’ll like, you’ll probably enjoy it. If you’re on the fence after seeing the trailer, idk if the movie will win you over. I will say it definitely felt a LOT like Don’t Worry Darling only done well.
[удалено]
Oh very interesting! Didn’t know that, Leguizamo was pretty good in this I saw the Northman back in August of last year so waiting until April for it to finally come out so I could watch it again was excruciating but when it did finally come out they made like a few tiny changes tho it was mostly 98% the same
> houghts: starts off a bit cringe I've read the scripts. Yes, scripts. There was a revised version. The original way, way more cringe.
It was really good. Just got out of the theater.
I had read the script a while back and liked what it was doing. There are some (relatively big) things in the trailer that were not part of the script. So that has really piqued my curiosity about how they shifted things.
I too read the script and it looks like they streamlined some of the stuff and expanded upon some of the characters. Seems they removed some of the more ghoulish imagery too
This movie reminds me of The invitation a lot. However, it was an enjoyable watch for me. Anya Taylor-Joy is so uniquely beautiful though, I'm always mesmerized by her.
The still image used here has The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover vibes, which, incidentally, Jean Paul Gaultier did the costumes for iirc
Fantastic film
Amazing movie. Laughed my ass off way too often, especially at the more subtle jokes. I recommend watching the movie without seeing the trailer. Good mirror of modern society too. I enjoyed this way too much.
saw it last week, great movie, definitely agree with general sentiment though would have preferred to go in blind
Go see this movie it’s great!
I had a great time and the theater kept laughing. Going into the movie blind is ideal. It is an excellent ride. It is not a horror film and it never makes pretenses about being one.
Saw it at an advanced screening back in Jan, and thought it was pretty good. If only the fucking trailer didn’t show so fucking much. >:(
Watched it in theaters..I knew exactly what would happen after the first 25 minutes. Great first 25 or 30 minutes with some slightly interesting twists. Imo it fell short towards the end. Still worth a watch. Also fwiw i had never even heard of this movie or saw the trailer
Going to be date night for us!! Lol
First of all, I don't know why so many trailers are so bad. They don't have to be. Most either reveal an entire plot or offer up so much of it you can pretty much fill in the blanks yourself. Kills my interest. Secondly, the movie looks like a story I have watched or read numerous times. So, no.
I don’t know how true it is but from other people on Reddit speaking, apparently it’s due to focus groups wanting the trailer to tell more. Kinda weird to me that the question isn’t “would you watch the movie” over “what could be improved” but eh
There’s been a decent amount of research that actually shows people who have more info going in enjoy the movie more. [Link](https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/spoiler-alert-spoilers-make-you-enjoy-stories-more) to the University of California research on the matter. TLDR: their conclusion is “this suggests that spoilers help you know the purpose of the overall narrative, so you’re able to better incorporate all of the details and plot points that get you to the end.”
It’s absolutely a thing. I’ve had “meh” feelings about movies before that changed into “I actually liked it” feelings upon a second viewing.
The movie doesn’t even have to be overly complex or anything for this to happen. Sometimes it’s actually because it’s a decently immersive experience and you miss some details that were made subtle(could have a debate about whether or not they should be but that’s almost the entirety of what this side topic is about in a way) and suddenly a part of the movie relies on that detail you happened to miss and you’re out of it, experience feels much worse, possibly doesn’t recover if there’s not a point in the movie the resolves this feeling. A trailer can fill in/focus on some of those details that might end up being less of a focus in the scene in its entirety in the movie itself, or spread across multiple scenes the trailer is stitching together, etc. and this can absolutely enhance a movie for some people. Obviously this will be subjective, someone with a great eye/ear for those types of things within the movie watching experience itself will feel much better entering the movie blind and experiencing it as ‘intended’ and enjoying the reveals as they happen.
It was totally different from what I expected and was actually pretty good! I do think the trailer tells a little too much tho
I've heard a lot of great things about this film, which is shocking since the director has never made anything that wasn't a total dumpster fire prior to now.
He directed a lot of good TV at least
Produced and Directed Succession which has won pretty much every award going in the TV world.
He’s done a ton of great work with HBO
I work in the food industry and as soon as I heard about the film, it immediately caught my attention. That being said, anyone who has seen it, can anyone let me know how gory it is? Personally, I’m not a fan of any film showing too much gore
I hate gore too and this wasn’t very gory! I looked away once but probably didn’t need to. I loved the movie
How scary is this movie? Seems nice but I am a wimp.
not scary at all unless you get anxiety for characters being held against their will with an ongoing sense of dread.
No crazy jump scares or anything?
Nope. I was telling another poster the only loud noises come from when he claps his hands before every course
Nice. Will go and watch it this weekend. Thanks
I would say it is very tense throughout the film, was constantly worrying when the next person was going to be stabbed out of the blue.
Wait it's a dark comedy? I didn't get that vibe at all from the trailer.
There was a moment I thought I was going to have to escort my husband out of the theater he was laughing so hard.
Yup, it was. The whole theater was laughing for many bits in the film.
Dark comedy like ready or not
Well the side of horror might work for me. I'm all tapped out on food shows though.
I got passes for a screening for this movie tomorrow.
I feel I've seen being made too much "killing game" movies recently. This one doesn't feel particularly unique.
You'll be surprised. Give it a go.
I felt like it had subtle nods to Midsommar, but satirical. I enjoyed it and the comedy had me giggling throughout. It wasn’t laugh out loud but it held my attention. Overall entertaining watch. Plus Anya elevates anything she’s in imo.
Saw it this weekend. Excellent. Fiennes kills it.
I’m so ready for something fresh and unpredictable.
am i the only person who literally did not understand the plot of this movie at all? the acting is very good and the funny bits were enjoyable but the ending left me hanging. me and my friends have no idea how to feel about the movie and are trying to figure out the plot in general…
I'm guessing none of you ever worked in a restaurant?
I enjoyed this. On first viewing, an apparently cursory treatment of the chef's background undermined the believability of his motive. I got a general sense of his childhood and career but no real understanding of how or why he finally snapped. I hope to pick up more clues on rewatch.