One of last year’s best movies was undoubtedly The Menu, director Mark Mylod’s jet-black and acerbically gnarly takedown of classism and the elites, all framed through the lens of a horror-tinged comedy set in the cutthroat world of fine dining. Whether by accident or design, Netflix has gotten in on a piece of the action following the release of Hunger.
While there’s little chance director Sitisiri Mongkolsiri’s dramatic thriller was explicitly crafted and given a green light on the basis of watching The Menu soar with both critics and at the box office, the similarities are there for all to see. Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying stars as Aoy, a 20-something who runs a family-owned noodle shop in Bangkok’s old quarter.
Out of nowhere, she receives a mysterious invitation to leave the pre-ordained destiny of dedicating her life to the family business in favor of joining the team at the titular restaurant, run by a head chef that’s every bit as famous as he infamous due to his quality food and incendiary temper.
Much like The Menu, Hunger dedicates a lot of time to ruminating on the social and wealth divides that separate the haves from the have nots, with top-quality cuisine and culinary elitism serving as a window into explorations of greed, mania, and ego. Calling it a carbon copy wouldn’t be fair, but it’s definitely worth considering that the success of one has at least factored into the popularity of the other.
Per FlixPatrol, Hunger can currently be found as the third most-watched feature on Netflix’s worldwide watch-list after dining out on the Top 10 in 67 countries, so it’s evidently one of the sharpest knives in the platform’s drawer at the moment.