Mumbai, Jan 3 (IANS): Director Mark Mylod has shared the idea behind his satirical thriller film 'The Menu', featuring Ralph Fiennes in the lead, along with Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, Hong Chau, Janet McTeer, Reed Birney and Judith Light, among others.

The film revolves around a weekend trip to a coastal island in the Pacific Northwest, where a couple joins several other guests to eat at an exclusive restaurant, Hawthorn.

Chef Julian Slowik (played by Ralph Fiennes) has prepared a one-of-a-kind spread for his guests. What is intriguing is that every course served by him reveals some secrets and unexpected dishes.

Sharing his vision, Mark: "We wanted to be really careful about skewering the industry and walked this tightrope, poking at it while remaining deeply respectful of the art form and the humans who are involved."

He added: "When I got involved, I did my own personal dive into that world to educate myself on how it worked and the level of commitment and the stress of maintaining that extraordinary level of art night after night. It destroys people. It's incredibly high pressure."

Revealing the inspiration behind the film, screenwriter Will Tracy said: "I'm a bit claustrophobic, and as we sat down to eat, I saw the boat that dropped us off leaving the dock."

He added: "It was a small island. And I realised, ‘Oh, we're stuck here for four hours. What if something goes wrong?'."

Producer Adam McKay also shared his perspective on the film, saying: "The film mixes biting class satire with humour, darkness, and a healthy dash of absurdity. Does that sound like a recipe? I swear I didn't mean to do that."

'The Menu' is releasing on Disney + Hotstar on January 4.