Characters of The Menu.
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The Guests
Margot Mills
"You're paying him to serve you. It doesn't matter whether he likes you or not."
Portrayed by: Anya Taylor-Joy
A woman who is uninterested in fine dining but comes to Hawthorn as Tyler's date.
- Alliterative Name: Margot Mills. Although she later reveals her true name is Erin.
- Armor-Piercing Response: Just when all hope seems lost, she realizes how to break Julian, and she proceeds to taunt him that he's gotten so obsessed with making fine dining morsels that he's no longer able to actually make good, simple food which fills people up. She ends by challenging him to make her a cheeseburger. Which he does, and lets her take it to go before he burns the restaurant down and kills everyone else.
- Audience Surrogate: The only invited guest who knows next to nothing about fine dining, which the film uses to explain food preparation and the culinary industry. It's also foreshadowing of her actual identity as a sex worker, not having the money or background to know anything the more "cultured" guests know. As it turns out, she's also the only guest to not be a self-absorbed hack.
- Fiery Redhead: Downplayed. She's rather calm and collected at the beginning of the movie, but starts to slowly lose her cool as everything continues to go to shit.
- Final Girl: While she isn't morally pure by the traditional standards of this trope, her virtue as a Working-Class Hero is what causes Julian to spare her and let her leave.
- High-Class Call Girl: She is implied to be one, if her clients are anything to go by - Tyler is clearly well-off and Richard is incredibly wealthy. This also further connects her to Julian by essentially comparing a gourmet chef to a high-end escort.
- Pinball Protagonist: Her actions don't truly affect the plot in any way, and Slowik and his cultists pull off their plan with barely a hitch. Although she succeeds in saving her own life, Slowik notes she wasn't supposed to be at the restaurant in the first place and may have already been looking for an excuse to let her leave.
- Rage Breaking Point: She noticeably loses her patience around Tyler when he belittles and orders her around. She finally breaks after Slowik has Tyler confess he knew everyone in the restaurant was going to die and took her into the line of fire anyway. She screams out in a rage and punches him in the face.Margot: You entitled piece of shit! I'M GONNA KILL YOU, TYLER!
- Unproblematic Prostitution: Downplayed. She used to enjoy her job, but has grown tired and jaded, much like Slowik has with his own.
- While Rome Burns: She calmly eats her cheeseburger as she watches Hawthorn burn.
- Working-Class Hero: Doesn't have a high-class job like Tyler or the other guests (in fact, she's an escort) and is implied to have grown up poor when she mentions her Struggling Single Mother's Trashy Trailer Home. She is certainly more sensitive to the class implications of the meal than anyone except Lillian, who only sees them as a theatrical gesture.
- You Will Be Spared: After she reminds Julian of the passion he used to have for cooking, he allows her to leave Hawthorn with her life and the cheeseburger he makes for her.
Tyler Ledford
"Chefs play with the raw materials of life itself. And death itself ... it's art on the edge of the abyss. Which is where God works, too."
Portrayed by: Nicholas Hoult
A foodie fanboy of Chef Slowik's who is willing to do anything for one of his meals.
- Ascended Fanboy: Miserably averted. He's clearly the most enthusiastic diner at Hawthorn, kissing up to Chef Slowik with fancy words and happily indulging while everything is going south. But when Chef Slowik challenges him to prepare a dish, he fucks it up beyond belief.
- Asshole Victim: His self-centeredness at being an invited guest and disregard for the other guests, especially Margot, makes him incredibly unlikeable. So when he hangs himself after Slowik makes him cook and breaks his spirit, you don't feel too bad for his fate.
- Berserk Button: Don't imply there's something wrong with Slowik's food. Even Margot commenting she'd prefer just the oyster clearly got to him. And he really didn't like that someone as "ungrateful" as Margot got preferential treatment from Slowik.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Appears, at first, to be just an awkward, well-meaning, and slightly pretentious foodie. Then Chef Julian reveals that Tyler knew the whole time what was going to happen that evening, and not only still showed up to a literal Death Trap, but roped in Margot just so he could attend. In other words, he was willing to condemn an innocent bystander to death just so he could experience Hawthorn for himself. Chef Slowik is so disgusted by this that he diverges from the evening’s script solely to humiliate him for his callousness.
- Complexity Addiction: Starting from the fancy oyster composition served during the ride, he often goes on verbose monologues about haute cuisine and its deepest meanings, which only come off as pretentious and devoid of substance. For contrast, a professional critic like Lillian can use many flowery words here and there in her comments, but she still manages to point out the good and bad aspects of the courses. This proves to be his truly fatal flaw, as his attempt at cooking something refined is an utter disaster, as he doesn't even know where to start. Had he settled for something simpler, he might have gained some sympathy from Julian and avoided a humiliating dress-down.
- Decoy Protagonist: One of the first two characters introduced alongside Margot, and of them, the one more actively interested in Julian and the meal, but ultimately, she is the undeniable protagonist of the movie, her adversarial relationship with and yet similarities to him drive the main character drama, and Tyler is the only guest to die before the final course.
- Dissonant Serenity: Is concerned with the food above all else, not seeming to care about the horrible things happening around him. As it happens, he knew ahead of time that it would be like this.
- Driven to Suicide: He hangs himself after his idol, Slowik, publicly humiliates him by revealing to everyone his ineptitude in the kitchen.
- Hated by All: By the time his dish is served, pretty much everyone hates his guts for bringing Margot knowing Slowik was planning on killing everyone.
- Hate Sink: He is a pretentious food snob who is constantly demeaning and condescending towards Margot and her lack of investment in the dining experience, not to mention completely dissonant to the continually unfolding chaos and is only interested in the food and whether or not Chef Slowik respects him. It gets far worse when he's revealed to have been completely aware of Slowik's intention with the Menu and hired Margot to be his guest since Hawthorn doesn't accept single-table reservations and his girlfriend broke up with him. Topping it all off, for all his food snobbery and pretentious posturing he's an absolutely DREADFUL cook who can barely even mince a shallot.
- Hypocrite: Whenever Margot criticizes Chef Slowik's dishes, Tyler immediately accuses her of not knowing enough about food for her to truly comprehend what makes his "art" great. Yet, it becomes increasingly apparent that Tyler's own understanding of Slowik's work is shallow at best, and furthermore can't cook anything himself to save his life. He also accuses Margot of being ungrateful for the experience that Slowik is giving them all, yet Tyler himself only cares about gaining the man's approval and has no regard for anyone else, something Slowik rightfully calls him out on.
- It's All About Me: Takes this to ludicrously callous and idiotic levels. Turns out he knew about Julian's plan to murder everyone beforehand and decided not only to attend anyway but to drag a completely innocent woman into Julian's Death Trap because he still wanted to attend and taste Julian's cooking. Julian goes off script for a moment just to humiliate Tyler because even he is taken aback by how completely self-centered this is.
- Know-Nothing Know-It-All: He is a pretentious foodie who takes pictures of his food and uses a lot of flowery words to describe it in the hopes of impressing others, but when he's forced to back up his "expertise" by cooking his own dish, he fails miserably.
- Lack of Empathy: Despite not being the main antagonist, he displays a profound and quite chilling disregard to the other diners’ suffering and terror - especially Margot's, whose presence and ensuing mortal peril is entirely his fault.
- Lethal Chef: Julian challenges him to cook something, and panic and culinary ineptitude combine to create an absolute disaster. His dish is incoherent because he pulled the ingredients out of his ass under stress, inedible because he failed to wash the leeks, and dangerous on account of including raw lamb. He also has no idea how to chop leeks and shallots (onions) and doesn't let the butter he sautées them in coat the pan, get up to temperature, or even melt before chucking the veggies in, implying that he's never actually cooked for himself.
- Loony Fan: He is such a Chef Julian fanboy that he’s willing to attend a dinner that he knows will result in everyone’s deaths, just to experience his cooking. Predictably, this ends poorly for him.
- Manchild: Spends most of the movie whining about others ruining his experience rather than taking the dangerous situation seriously. Even as people are being maimed and killed, he focuses solely on taking pictures of the food and pathetically trying to impress Julian with pretentious language and obvious culinary observations. His immaturity is implied to be a reason his girlfriend broke up with him, and he is so lacking in charisma that he has to pay Margot to be his plus-one. Ultimately, Julian punishes him for his immaturity by dressing him up like a cook, writing his first name on the jacket in Sharpie with a childish scrawl, and forcing him to display his complete ineptitude in the kitchen in front of the staff and guests.
- Performance Anxiety: Slowik deliberately induces this on him by flattering him in front of the entire restaurant, making him cook on the spot, and then having the entire staff and all the guests stand around him and silently watch as Slowik sarcastically comments on his every move. Tyler is so rattled that he can barely speak, let alone cook, and clumsily injures himself several times before turning out an inedible, under-prepared, and culinarily nonsensical dish.
- Shoo Out the Clowns: Subverted a bit. Tyler’s extremely food-focused attitude even as the situation gets worse and worse provides a good amount of humorous dissonance, but the darkly comedic tone remains even after he’s so thoroughly broken he kills himself.
- The Sociopath: It's revealed that he knew all along the meal would end with all the guests being murdered... and that he hired Margot to accompany him anyway because Julian wouldn't seat him unless he brought a guest and he didn't care at all about Margot dying if it meant he got the food he wanted. Even Julian is so disgusted that he takes time out of the schedule to publicly humiliate Tyler in front of everyone before whispering something to him that causes him to walk off to kill himself. Margot barely takes a moment to take in his death when she finds out.
- Straw Fan: The most enthusiastic diner, he can't help himself from fawning over the food, explaining every little detail to his date (Though he does stop once he accidentally interrupted Chef). When asked by Margot why the obsession, he compares Chef to God. Though there are plenty of hints that he's actually quite ignorant of what he knows to be fact. He really starts to show a nasty side when Margot suggests returning the Memory dish to the kitchen and starts hurling insults at her, and continues the vindictiveness the rest of the movie. Once things start spiraling out of control, he's the only one to show he still cares more about the food than people getting shot or dismembered. Then Chef reveals that he was told in advance everyone would die, and brought Margot in to cover for his ex-girlfriend just so he'd still get to eat. The chef was so disgusted that he made him try to cook himself, only to fail. Chef admits to him that people like him, who shallowly fawn over celebrities yet have no talent for it, are the reason there's no mystery in his art. Tyler's so heartbroken he hangs himself.
- Too Dumb to Live: Despite knowing in advance what Chef Julian has planned for the evening, he not only still attends, but hires Margot just to make sure he still can (Hawthorn doesn't seat single diners). Whether he was just that passionate about Chef Julian's cooking or thought he could survive by sucking up to him is up for debate. Either way, he dies.
- Wicked Pretentious: He waxes poetic about the beauty and power of haute cuisine, but any observations he makes about the food are very surface-level (for instance, he's quite proud that he was able to taste the bergamot in bergamot tea), and as soon as he tries to cook something himself, he fails miserably.
Lillian Bloom
"I will say the emulsion here looks slightly broken. You really shouldn't see that in a restaurant of this quality."
Portrayed by: Janet McTeer
A food critic whose rave review put Hawthorn on the map.
- Caustic Critic: Finds something negative in every course. She has caused restaurants to close after particularly terrible reviews she gave them.
- She's so infamous in-universe as being such, that the entire reason Slowik was propelled into fame was because Lillian wrote a rare positive review about his previous restaurant, Tantalus.
- Eye Scream: During the final course, the fire causes molten chocolate to drip down into her eyes.
- Famed In-Story: While she's comically self-absorbed, it's clear that Lillian is a very big deal as a food critic. Tyler's jaw drops when he sees her on the dock, and when she praises Katherine's dish, the homicidal sous-chef can't help but shed Tears of Joy.
- Implausible Deniability: She tries to insist that Jeremy's death was staged and it's all theater, despite seeing the man eat a bullet in front of her.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: Immediately refills her wine glass (and offers refills to everyone else present) after Katherine reveals it was actually her idea to kill all of the guests.
- It's All About Me: Before things really go bad, she claims that the entire meal Slowik prepared was actually being done specifically for her.
- Never My Fault: When the Memory dish comes up, the pictures printed on her tortillas are of restaurants that her reviews have caused to close down. She thinks it's weird and doesn't think of it again. When Slowik reveals she's there because those reviews ruined so many livelihoods, she tries to justify herself but Slowik won't let her speak.
- Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: She throws out pompous, made-up words just so she could sound cultured and smart. Justified by her occupation demands that her articles are fascinating in some form, and she does provide some substance to her comments to go with the fancy words.
- Smug Snake: She practically oozes pompous self-regard, which gradually wears away over the course of the night.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: A deleted scene during the ferry ride has her reveal that Slowik had disappeared for three years in self-imposed exile. She then brags that she found him working at an unassuming Korean taco truck and demanded an interview. Had she never dragged him back into the spotlight, it's likely that Slowik would have spent the remainder of his life content in returning to his roots as a fry cook. Instead, she ensured that he would continue his downward spiral until he arrived at his Murder-Suicide plan that would lead to her death.
- Water Torture: In one scene from the script that didn’t make it to the final film, she’s waterboarded in a giant pail of the broken emulsion that she had criticized earlier. This is why at the end of the film her hair is wet and her makeup is running.
Ted Feldman
"Of course you would make your own yeast from apples, you wicked thing!"
Portrayed by: Paul Adelstein
Lillian's editor and guest.
- Dirty Coward: During "Man's Folly," he was the last one found because he simply hid inside the chicken coop.
- Satellite Character:Unlike guests such as Anne and Felicity, he has very little identity outside of his relationship with Lillian.
- Yes-Man: He is an obsequious type who instantly revises his opinions on everything to match Lillian’s, no matter how caustic, cruel, or obviously wrong. Julian calls him an enabler.
Richard Liebbrandt
"She's nothing like our Claire!"
Portrayed by: Reed Birney
A rich man who has visited Hawthorn many times.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Zig-zagged. Both he and Anne ask for the other to be freed, but when given the chance to run for it, he quickly leaves her behind, weakly promising to send help.
- Dead Sparks: Shows no passion for Anne, his wife, although there's at least a little love left.
- Dirty Old Man: Even though he's married, he hired Erin for sexual services and had her roleplay as his dead daughter.
- Fingore: Elsa chops off his left ring finger when he tries to force his way out of the restaurant.
- Inelegant Blubbering: After he gets his finger chopped off, he spends the next few minutes loudly sobbing, in a not-at-all dignified manner.
Anne Liebbrandt
"So ... you know my husband?"
Portrayed by: Judith Light
Richard's wife and another frequent guest at the restaurant.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Both she and Richard ask for the other to be freed.
- Dead Sparks: Shows no passion for her husband Richard, although there's at least a little love left.
- Dissonant Serenity: She quietly thanks Slowik as she is about to be executed.
- Nice to the Waiter: A literal case, she's probably the one who's the most congenial to the kitchen staff, even thanking one of them when they hand her her husband's wedding ring after they severed his finger.
- Pet the Dog: Silently urges Margot to leave when she has the chance and not worry about her and the others who are left there.
- Woman Scorned: Subverted. Despite discovering that her husband cheated on her with Erin, an escort that's in the very same room with her, she doesn't seem to begrudge her for it at all, and even encourages her to leave Hawthorn at the end while the others wait for their deaths.
- Women Are Wiser: Keeps a cooler head than her husband.
George Diaz
"Harvest harder, my dude! We're starving!"
Portrayed by: John Leguizamo
A washed-up actor.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: He and Felicity argue a lot towards the start of the movie, but as it progresses and it becomes obvious that they're going to die, they make it clear that they care about each other.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: A mild example- Slowik wants to kill him because Slowik wasted one of his rare days off seeing George's film Calling Dr. Sunshine, despising the film and seeing it as a prime example of an artist losing their purpose. George's brief comments on Calling Dr. Sunshine indicate that he has nothing but good memories of a fun shoot, even if the script was self-admittedly bad.
- Famed In-Story: He's a reasonably well-known actor, even if he is past his prime.
- Money, Dear Boy: In-Universe. He freely admits that he did several films in his career just for the paycheck, which turns out to be the reason he was invited; Slowik was subjected to one such movie on one of his precious few days off and was infuriated to see another artist phone in their craft when he dedicated every moment of his life to his.
- No Name Given: The credits only list him as "Movie Star."
- Shadow Archetype: To Slowik himself, which Slowik knows and hates him for. Slowik is an artist at the height of his fame, devotes every moment of his life to his craft, and has come to hate every minute of it. Diaz's career is in decline, and he's not above
phoning in a lame script for a paycheck. But he does still love and enjoy acting in a way Slowik can no longer love or enjoy cooking. Look no further than how they treat their staff: Diaz and Lynn don't have the healthiest relationship in the world but in the end, they do still love one another while Slowik's cult of fawning, brainwashed staff are just obsessed with him. - White-Dwarf Starlet: A rare male version of this; he claims to be "transitioning" to a new phase in his career as a TV presenter, with this trip to Hawthorn meant to serve as a test run, but his conversations with his assistant and interactions with others suggest that he is still pitching those shows and widely viewed as washed up.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Implicitly his response to the very white Slowik quoting MLK and comparing himself to a slave. Diaz turns to the finance bros, the only other people of color among the guests aside from Felicity, to ask if he just heard what he thinks he just heard.
Felicity Lynn
"It's the emoji for me."
Portrayed by: Aimee Carrero
George's assistant and girlfriend.
- Affably Evil: Falls into this category, with George Leaning on the Fourth Wall for the audience by asking why she had to be included in the group. She is so charming, it's understandable you might overlook that she is not any different than the others. Felicity is the perfect example of the kind of person who does questionable or immoral things but gets a pass because she has a likable personality and a pretty face.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: She and George argue a lot towards the start of the movie, but as it progresses and it becomes obvious that they're going to die, they make it clear that they care about each other.
- Beleaguered Assistant: Has the unenviable role as George's assistant; he clearly takes advantage of her and even admits to giving her desired next employer a negative recommendation. However, she isn't very sympathetic herself either - she admits to stealing from him, and when she later pleads with Julian to extend her the same sympathy he shows Margot, she is forced to admit that she is also an Ivy Leaguer from a wealthy family.
- Lazy Bum: Not in the traditional sense, but when George tries to plead that she at least be let go, Slowik makes her admit she has a degree from Brown and no student loans. This shows that she is wasting her potential by being the assistant of a washout like George and Slowik bluntly tells her she is dying.
- Like an Old Married Couple: She and George bicker constantly and have done much to sabotage each other, but when the chips are down, it's clear they're the most important people in each other's lives.
- The Mistress: Though it seems to come second to her role as assistant.
- Stealing from the Till: She admits that she stole money from George.
Soren, Bryce, and Dave
"You know we work with Doug Verrick." note
Portrayed by: Arturo Castro (Soren), Rob Yang (Bryce), and Mark St. Cyr (Dave)
Three employees of a finance firm run by Doug Verrick.
- Entitled Bastard: Most blatantly amongst the guests, they flaunt their association with Doug Verrick for preferential treatment and are very much not Nice to the Waiter.
- Everyone Has Standards:
- As immature and irritating as they are, they are understandably horrified at Slowik drowning Doug Verrick, with one of them even trying to break out of the restaurant to save him.
- They're not winning any awards for sensitivity any time soon, but even they find Slowik quoting Martin Luther King, Jr. while justifying his murder quest to be tasteless.
- Fratbro: Grown-up versions.
- The Power of Friendship: Averted. Though they are ostensibly friends, they immediately split up when given a chance to run for it, even yelling at each other to go away and run in a different direction. Sticking together, three strong men might have had a chance at overpowering a few pursuers and successfully escaping. However, they never even consider working together or helping each other, and on their own are easily overpowered and returned to the restaurant.
- White-Collar Crime: All three share in their firm's misdeeds such as embezzlement and tax avoidance.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Their collective reaction to Slowik (a white guy) invoking the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. during his Motive Rant. Diaz incredulously asks them if Slowik really just did that, and they blandly confirm that he sure did.
Linda Slowik
Portrayed by: Rebecca Koon
Julian's alcoholic mother, and the final guest at Hawthorn's last seating.
- Abusive Parents: Of the alcoholic variety. Slowik recounts to the guest how she would get drunk and beat him as a child.
- Dissonant Serenity: Part of it can be excused by her drunken stupor, but even in the beginning where she's only just started drinking, right when the madness starts, when Sous Chef Jeremy unveils "The Mess", everyone reacts about as well as you'd expect to witness a man blow his own head off right in front of them. Then it cuts to Linda sitting at her table, wine glass in hand and stone-faced as ever with only slightly raised brows like something only mildly interesting just happened.
- Drowning My Sorrows: The extreme case of it as she silently drinks bottle after bottle while the madness of the night goes through, without even caring. By the time dessert comes around, she's passed out at her table and the staff doesn't even bother waking her up or dressing her in marshmallows and chocolate.
- Lady Drunk: Is always seen with a bottle and a glass nearby, and Slowik tells the guests she's drunk. As he takes the guests outside, she quietly stands up to get another bottle of wine.
- The Quiet One: Has exactly one line of dialogue throughout the entire film.Linda: He's a handsome boy.
- Uniformity Exception: She stands out among the rest of the dinner guests in several manners; She is the only patron who is seated by herself (whereas Hawthorn explicitly doesn't offer tables for one), is only a Cynicism Catalyst for Chef Slowik in the context of her contributing to his Dark and Troubled Past instead of being a social climber whose pretentious lifestyle drained him of his passion, and is the sole guest not dressed in the S'more outfit due to being too drunk to function at that point.
The Staff
In General
- Affably Evil: The sommelier and several of Slowik's chefs. Slowik, Elsa, and others generally fall more under Faux Affably Evil, dripping sarcasm and contempt into everything they say.
- Chef of Iron: All the chefs in Slowik's brigade can hold their own in a fight. Add the fact that they outnumber the guests by at least two to one, and the very sharp knives/cleavers they have at their disposal, and it means no one can muscle their way out.
- Cult: Their unyielding dedication to their art and ironclad loyalty to Slowik goes beyond the simple vigor of ardent craftsmen and into the territory of religious zealotry. And that’s even before understanding that they’re quite willing to both kill and be killed to satisfy his vision, though the role Katherine plays muddles the waters, as she supposedly organized this event in response to Slowik’s abuse yet also slavishly complies to bringing about his death… along with her own. These are some odd folks, to say the least.
- Dissonant Serenity: The waitstaff, including Elsa and the sommelier, are unfailingly polite and professional even as the evening devolves into chaos.
- Evil Chef: Julian and the rest of his kitchen crew are very pleased to torment and murder their (admittedly unlikable) guests.
- I'm a Humanitarian: Subverted. While callous and excessive consumption is a driving theme of the film, the staff dodges this cliché and never directly serves human flesh. Although they do wind up "cooking" their guests in a fashion.
- Married to the Job: Julian and his staff have devoted their entire lives to their craft; they all live on the island, spend the majority of every day collecting and preparing the food they cook, and receive only one day off every few months. Julian takes it to the next level, as he has an entire room in his cabin that is an exact replica of Hawthorn with a bed in the corner, implying he spends all of his waking hours planning his meals and presentations. Margot observes a happy photo of him with a wife and child in his sparsely decorated personal office, though we never learn if his obsession with the kitchen is the reason for his separation or was caused by their loss.
- The Sleepless: Downplayed. Apparently, everyone on the island has figured out how to function on less than four hours of sleep a night, as Elsa says their days begin at 6 am and end past 2 am, with little to no downtime during the day. While the chronic sleep deprivation could be playing some role in their cult-like behavior, everyone working at Hawthorne is still way more functional than they should be, with zero signs of exhaustion.
- Undying Loyalty: The chefs are incredibly loyal to Chef Julian. So much so that they are willing to die alongside him. Strangely enough, the remaining victims who take part in Julian's dessert course thank him and join the staff in telling him they love him, but at that point, what else can they do?
Chef Julian Slowik
"I love you all."
"What happens inside this room is meaningless compared to what occurs outside, in nature, in the soil and the water and the air. We are but a frightened nanosecond. Nature is timeless."
Portrayed by: Ralph Fiennes
A legendary chef who runs Hawthorn, a famous fine-dining restaurant. Jaded and worn out by years of toil, he decides to prepare one final and very special meal for a few chosen guests.
- Affably Evil: Despite being a total madman, Slowik is unfailingly polite, particularly towards Margot, whom he recognizes isn't supposed to be there.
- Bad Boss: As dedicated as Slowik's staff is to him, it's implied he's not really great to work for. In the fourth course ("The Mess"), he lectures his sous-chef and greatest apprentice Jeremy Louden about how he'll never reach his own level no matter how hard he tries until the latter is on the brink of tears before killing himself. In the fifth course ('Man's Folly"), his sous-chef Katherine Keller talks about how he sexually harassed her several times. He also treats Elsa quite poorly, despite her fanatical loyalty. It's notably quite petty that he mocks her for forgetting a barrel he asked for, except Elsa later remarks he didn't ask her to bring it (assuming she was telling the truth).
- Big Bad: He's the head chef of Hawthorn and the primary instigator of the plot, cooking up a twisted meal to terrify and insult the guests before killing them all.
- Broken Ace: One of the greatest chefs alive, but his success has left him both hugely disillusioned and utterly insane.
- Celebrity Is Overrated: His years as an acclaimed chef have made him completely miserable, to the point of planning to take his own life.
- Character Tic: He claps his hands loudly to get the attention of the guests and his chefs. Margot towards the final course copies his clap to get everyone's attention.
- Corrupted Character Copy: Julian Slowik is pretty much what would happen if Gordon Ramsay was corrupted by all of the negative elements of cooking he's dealt with as both began their lives as humble line cooks who later skyrocketed into becoming some of the most famous chefs in the world, but became jaded after seeing how other view their crafts. Gordon, however, was able to rise above this and while he's known for being harsh to others, it's because he wants them to succeed. Julian, on the other hand, became massively depressed over his fame and how people treated him and his craft, to the point where he stages a Murder-Suicide out of sheer rage over how the world views and treats him.
- Despair Event Horizon: The plot happens because Slowik has already crossed it before the movie started. Disillusioned with his craft after years of thankless toil combined with the latter half of his career being spent serving to rich, spoiled, and snobby elites who only ate at his restaurant for the prestige of it rather than to actually sate their hunger, not actually caring about what he cooked for them. It was at some point, in a deleted scene this moment is implied to be him trying to go back to his roots by working at a taco truck only to be found again and yanked back into the spotlight, that he finally crosses it, and decided he would commit a Murder-Suicide by killing himself and his staff, along with everyone he saw as contributors to his crossing of it, the "Takers". And in true fashion of this trope Margot/Erin asking him to cook a simple, real cheeseburger, and giving him a genuine compliment after tasting it; thus reminding him of his original passion, making him have Tears of Joy and genuinely smile for the first time in a long time...this one moment of happiness isn't enough to change his mind after years of depression. He is still going to kill himself and everyone in the building. All it did was convince him that he was wrong: she really isn't a "Taker" like the rest of his guests, and so he lets her go before the final course.
- Driven to Suicide: He’s so tired and jaded after his years of thankless toil that he decides to kill himself, his staff, and his hated diners.
- Even Evil Has Standards:
- Even he seems appalled that Tyler brought Margot along to Hawthorn knowing she would die just so he could attend.
- He's taken aback when Margot points out to him near the end of the film that he was so caught up in his theatrics that he neglected to do his job and feed his guests. After trying and failing to defend himself, he asks Margot what he could do to make amends to her. He might be murderously depressed, but he still takes his job very seriously.
- Evil Is Petty: His reasons for killing the guests are tied to them being terrible shallow people in some way, albeit it's obviously still insane for wanting them dead over it and terrifying them along the way there. Tyler was an immature fanboy oozing pretentiousness who made no real effort at actually understanding the art. Lillian and her editor drove multiple other chefs to financial ruin. Richard and Anne were regulars who didn't remember any of the dishes he prepared. Linda Slowik was (according to him) abusive to him as a child. Soren, Bryce, and Dave are corrupt executives for his investor. The trope most applies to George and Felicity, where he is insulted that another artist of great talent phoned in a movie performance just for a paycheck (wasting one of Slowik's very rare days off) and the latter enjoyed a privileged effortless life who has wasted her Ivy League education while being closely associated with the famous but washed up actor George, who she is having an affair with. In the end, she dies because he has no reason to spare her life as unlike Erin, she has no ability with which to reach out to Slowik nor understand his mentality in order to defeat him due to her privileged upbringing.
- Famed In-Story: Is considered a legendary figure in the culinary world, along the lines of Gordon Ramsay or Thomas Keller.
- Feel No Pain: He demonstrates twice that heat can't hurt his hands.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: Started his career as a simple line cook at a burger joint who made employee of the month. From there, he's grown into one of the most famed chefs on earth, and a rather twisted killer and cult leader to boot.
- Happiness in Minimum Wage: The only time he seems to have ever been happy and enjoyed cooking was during his time at a small burger joint, which he keeps a picture of to remind himself of better times.
- Hates the Job, Loves the Limelight: Inverted. He used to love cooking and part of him still does but he absolutely hates the status he's gained and making food for rich snobs who don't appreciate his work.
- Hypocrite: He claims that his menu is something "pure" and devoid of ego. Listening to any of his speeches reveals that everything is instead very much about satisfying his massive ego, and it's also not pure but an extremely personal matter.
- Insufferable Genius: Obliviously so. Margot points out near the end that he's so caught up in his murderous insults and theatrics that he's neglected to truly feed any of his guests. Slowik is taken aback, and after briefly trying to defend his excess, asks how he can make amends to his prisoner's palate.
- It's All About Me: Though the narrative leans towards Slowik's philosophy if not his methods, Margot tersely reminds him at the climax that as a chef, he's just supposed to serve good food and make his customers happy rather than use his kitchen to nurse a bruised ego or sexually harass his staff. After failing to come up with an excuse, he actually concedes her point and makes her a cheeseburger with fries at her request to make amends.
- Jaded Professional: Is one of the best chefs in the world, but he's become incredibly jaded to the pretentiousness of fine dining, and longs for the days when his cooking was simpler and he was happier.
- Last-Name Basis: Besides his employees, who call him Chef, everyone refers to him by his last name exclusively.
- Lonely at the Top: Though one of the most skilled and famous chefs in the world, he’s genuinely grown to hate his job, admitting to Margot that it's been years since he enjoyed cooking. Margot finds out the only time he was truly happy was when he was a young man working at a burger joint flipping burgers.
- Mad Artist: He views his cooking as an art and he decides to go out alongside his chefs and various people he resents in one final dish.
- Married to the Job: He is completely devoted to his craft and only takes a day off once every few months.
- Multiple-Choice Past: At one point in the movie, Julian speaks about his upbringing in Waterloo, Iowa; later, he mentions that he grew up in Bratislava. Neither is explicitly confirmed; perhaps he is a well-traveled immigrant, or perhaps he is an Unreliable Narrator. Or he's simply trolling Margot, who scoffs at his comment about Bratislava while lying about her own upbringing. On top of it, Julian Slowik, or Słowik, can easily pass as a genuine Polish name — but not a Slovak (as Bratislava would imply) one.
- Not So Stoic: Slowik at first appears to be a regal, magnanimous chef, but he quickly becomes more unhinged and emotional. More specifically, he drops his flashy facade whenever he's annoyed by Tyler's blatant attempts to impress him.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Julian compares himself to Margot, citing that they're both service industry workers who've grown to hate the jobs they used to enjoy.
- Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Ralph Fiennes is attempting an American accent. It can be heard in the rhotic Rs, elongated vowels, and pronunciation of the word Tuesday as “Toosday” (rather than the British “Tyoosday”). But it’s patchy at best, and the viewer could be forgiven for thinking that Fiennes is speaking in his natural RP English accent.
- Self-Made Man: He started off as a simple line cook in a casual burger joint before working his way up to becoming a very well-respected chef running a Michelin star rated restaurant.
- Sophisticated as Hell: While a Soft-Spoken Sadist for much of the film, he occasionally explodes into viciousness and profanity, particularly when Anne misidentifies the "rare spotted halibut" he served her and Richard as simple cod. He also explains that realizing that he was an "artist whose work turns to shit inside your gut" was a big factor in him hitting his Despair Event Horizon.
- Taking You with Me: He invites the guests whom he personally despises so that they can be broken down to his level and die alongside him.
- Tears of Joy: Margot ordering a simple "real cheeseburger" reminds him of his time as a line cook at a no-name burger joint and he's shown smiling happily with tears in his eyes as he cooks.
- Tragic Villain: Slowik is completely and utterly insane, but the film extends a measure of sympathy to him in its critique of the fine dining industry, highlighting how its hollowness has left him deeply broken and disillusioned with the culinary art he used to love.
- True Craftsman: In addition to making it a double cheeseburger even when he wasn't asked to do so, he charges Margot a competitive bordering on the generous sum of $9.95 (tax included) for the meal. And though he initially didn't think to include fries with it, he does so when requested.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: As a young man, he was a happy line cook. Thirty-five years later, he's one of the most famous chefs in the world and extremely bitter and jaded.
- When He Smiles: Exploited. While investigating his personal quarters, Margot discovers a picture of him sincerely smiling at a point in his life when he was truly happy. It's a picture of him as a young man, working as a humble line cook at a casual burger joint. Margot later orders an ordinary cheeseburger and french fries, reminding him of these happier times and causing him to deliver the same genuine smile right before he is successfully convinced to spare her.
Elsa
"You will eat less than you desire and more than you deserve."
Portrayed by: Hong Chau
Chef Slowik's devoted maître d', who cares a great deal about being Julian's favorite.
- Beleaguered Assistant: Is dedicated to Slowik, but is forced to dance to his every tune no matter how ridiculous or petty. Notably, he blames her for forgetting a barrel. Except just before dying, Elsa says he never asked her to bring it although it's not entirely clear if she was telling the truth due to her envy of Margot replacing her.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: When she suspects that Julian might prefer Margot to her, she attacks Margot in a jealous rage.
- The Dragon: To Julian Slowik, being his most prominent enforcer.
- Emotionless Girl: Until she fears she's being replaced.
- Faux Affably Evil: She maintains a polite and professional attitude, but through her snarky remarks on the guests (especially the finance bros), you can tell that she HATES their guts.
- Green-Eyed Monster:Elsa attacks Margot in Slowik's house when she fears that he is going to replace her with Margot.
- Not So Stoic: Maintains the same level of Dissonant Serenity as the rest of the staff up until Julian makes Margot part of the staff. She winds up trying to personally kill Margot under fear of being replaced.
- Servile Snarker:Delivers increasingly threatening barbs to the guests while (mostly) retaining her professional persona.
Jeremy Louden
Portrayed by: Adam Aalderks
A chef who works very hard to master his craft but becomes despondent when he realizes he will never reach Slowik's level.
- Ate His Gun: How he kills himself in front of all the dinner guests.
- Dramatically Missing the Point: He kills himself because he'll never measure up to Slowik, only being "good" but never "great". While Slowik is incredibly harsh and demeaning in his delivery, what Jeremy fails to realize is that Slowik's "greatness" and fame are exactly why he's so miserable and no longer enjoys cooking. In fact, Slowik was at his happiest when he was an unremarkable fry cook for a burger joint.
- Driven to Suicide: Shoots himself in despair over his inability to become equal to Julian despite his years and years of hard work.
- Sacrificial Lamb: He's the first casualty of the night, showing the guests that this isn't just a pretentious and off-putting show - they are in mortal danger. Though at first, they manage to convince themselves that it is just part of the show and not real.
Katherine Keller
Portrayed by: Christina Brucato
A sous-chef who was harassed by Slowik and who turns out to have been intimately involved with setting up the chef's last menu.
- Alliterative Name: Katherine Keller.
- The Heavy: She's the one that causes the movie's plot by giving Slowik the idea to kill the diners in the first place.
- Hope Spot: The female guests try to turn Katherine against Julian after he admits to harassing her and after she offers them some wine while they're all waiting for the men to be recaptured. Katherine, however, says that the events of the night were her idea in the first place and makes it clear she won't help anyone escape.
- Identical Stranger:She bears a passing resemblance to Julian's wife, possibly explaining why he made sexual advances on her.
- Inappropriate Pride: Take very much pride in being the one that came up with the idea to kill everyone and in the last moments before the restaurant explodes you can clearly see her visibly excited that her idea is being executed. While the rest of the staff waits for the explosion motionless like it's part of the work, she smiles as she looks into the flame that is building up in the kitchen.
- The Man in Front of the Man: She freely admits that she came up with the idea to kill everyone, and Julian allows her to stab him in the leg during "her" course after she tells everyone about how he had sexually harassed her in the kitchen. Despite these revelations, she never becomes the film's primary antagonist and dies with the rest of the cast.
- Named After Somebody Famous: Shares a last name with Thomas Keller, head chef of the restaurant The French Laundry.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Nobody can say with certainty that they know the entire truth, but if Katherine is right, she’s both directly and indirectly responsible for orchestrating the night of culinary bloodshed, yet for the most part plays the role of another of Julian’s fanatical followers.
Dale
Portrayed by: Matthew Cornwell
Another one of Slowik's staff.
- Beneath Notice: His role drives home the point of the customers being so entitled and self-centered that they never acknowledge the staff serving their food which is how he easily tricked them into thinking he's rescuing them. As a matter of fact, Dale was the fisherman harvesting scallops from the beginning given he was the only one outside on the island at the time.
- Cavalry Betrayal: He pretends to be a Coast Guard officer who arrives at the island after Erin calls him, but then he reveals that this is all an act and he's just another one of Julian's fanatical cooks.
- Only a Lighter:His gun is actually a lighter.
Doug Verrick
Portrayed by: Michael Neal (uncredited)
The angel investor who funded Hawthorn, and who took ownership of it during the Covid-19 pandemic.- Corrupt Corporate Executive: His company the finance bros work for routinely commits tax fraud, money laundering, and IP theft, and also happens to be the "angel investor" who bankrolls Hawthorn.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: He’s strapped to angel wings and then drowned while the guests watch helplessly.
- Fingore: Before (or after) his deathnote , all his fingers are chopped off and put into the guests' gift bags.
The Sommelier
Portrayed by: Peter Grosz
The sommelier of Hawthorn.
- Deranged Dance: As the staff prepares the final course you can see him dancing gleefully and pouring wine all over the floor.
- Dissonant Serenity: He is...disturbingly blasé about everything going down at Hawthorne. While Julian's chefs all remain very serious and stoic the entire night (Katherine's moment of spotlight aside), the Sommelier is very happy and talkative the entire night, even as horrible violence occurs around him. And in the set up for the night's finale, he is seen pouring out wine on the floor while dancing around the room, as though he were not about to be incinerated in a massive fire. No indication is given as to why he is the way that he is, as suicidal loyalty to Julian aside, he doesn't seem as cult-ish as the other chefs personality-wise.
- Evil Laugh: He lets out a sinister chuckle just as Slowik is about to reveal that he has captured Doug Verrick.
- No Name Given: Unlike the rest of the employees at Hawthorn, he is not identified by name.
- Sommelier Speak: His talk about wine gets extremely flowery, even saying one vintage has "afternotes of longing and regret".
