Nicholas Hoult and Anya Taylor-Joy star with Ralph Fiennes as sinister chef in The Menu trailer

Nicholas Hoult and Anya Taylor-Joy find themselves struggling to survive as a luxury restaurant turns into a waking nightmare in the horror comedy The Menu.

A new trailer for the film shows a claque of well-heeled patrons arriving at a mega-upscale eatery on a secluded island for an elaborately curated meal.

But the sinister Chef Slowik, played by Ralph Fiennes, has other plans for them after they sit down to their bespoke culinary treats.

Nicholas and Anna play a young gorgeous couple called Tyler and Margot, who are among several rich diners arriving to eat at the restaurant.

Chef Slowik gives an earsplitting clap to call his staff and customers to attention, running his kitchen with military precision.

‘Good evening. Welcome to Hawthorne. It’ll be our pleasure to feed you,’ he says, adding that they ‘will ingest fat, salt, protein and at times entire ecosystems.’ 

Janet McTeer’s character Lillian Bloom, a patron, marvels over one of her sensationally complex dishes, telling the man opposite: ‘We’re eating the ocean.’ 

Tyler finds himself moved to tears by the experience as he snaps pictures of his food, while Margot remains distinctly unimpressed.

He explains to Margot that he finds the restaurant ‘very moving,’ and she deadpans: ‘So it’s okay that I’m not as into this as you are?’

At that moment Elsa, a staff member at Hawthorne played by Hong Chau, violently tears Margot’s jacket off her chair, giving her a jolt.

Margot’s attitude does not appear to go over well at Hawthorne, to the point Chef Slowik warns her in a private moment: ‘You shouldn’t be here tonight.’

Although other guests, including a movie star played by Chef actor John Leguizamo, appear to be enjoying themselves, their good time does not last long.

Ominous signs of what is to come appear, including the fact that Chef Slowik feels the need to constantly clap the staff to attention and that whenever he gives instructions they shout in unison: ‘Yes, chef!’ like soldiers accepting orders.

In a particularly bizarre moment, Chef Slowik says: ‘I love you all,’ and the staff, in the same martial tone, bark without smiling: ‘We love you too, chef!’ 

Felicity, a character played by Aimee Carrero, slowly appears to begin to register that something at Hawthorne is amiss. 

‘You, my dear guests, are not the common man, isn’t that right?’ the chef says darkly. ‘What happens inside this room is meaningless compared to what happens outside. We are but a frightened nanosecond. Nature is timeless.’

Flashes of the mayhem to come include a frightening shot of Margot discovering what appears to be the body of someone who has been hanged.

One of the guests becomes so desperate to escape that he swings his chair at one of the glass walls, only for it to have no effect.

During an eerie ritual after nightfall, the guests are all assembled in a semicircle as the Hawthorne staff stand in an imposing formation in front of them.

A guest appears to take fright and try to dash off into the wilderness – but the Hawthorne staff immediately give chase.

‘What the hell is going on here?’ Margot asks, audibly near tears, as the deluxe experience she disdained begins to transform into a horror movie.

Elsa is seen raising a knife and tearing across the kitchen, clearly about to strike, though her target remains hidden offscreen.

When Chef Slowik has finally explained to his guests the terrible fate that is about to befall them, Felicity raises a hand to her head in anguish.

Tyler however has one question on his mind and does not hesitate to ask it – with a bit of food in his mouth he asks: ‘Is this bergamot I’m getting, chef?’

The Menu is directed by Mark Mylod, who has directed episodes of such shows as Game Of Thrones, Succession and The Royle Family and who has also been at the helm of feature films like Ali G Indahouse. 

With a cast that includes Judith Light and Rob Yang, the movie will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and bow in theaters November 18.