1 Star Review

Chefs have always been a select breed of people, haven’t they? Coming across as barely closeted psychopaths, with super OCD, who insist on the most perfect whites, spotlessly clean workstations and the most imperceptibly high standards for the smallest of things. Their poster boy, and archetype of the grumpy chef, Gordon Ramsay has been ranting and raving and swearing at and dominating people in kitchens on TV for twenty years now, and as Kitchen Nightmares comes back for a brand new season, it seems that people still can’t get enough of it.

It’s a wonder then, that it took Hollywood and independent filmmakers so long to get in on the action, as it obviously makes for good telly, but recently we’ve had a spate of unhinged chef dramas to make up for it, from Boiling Point (2019), which graduated into a full length feature in 2021 and a BBC series in 2023, to The Menu in 2022, and most recently The Bear (2022- ) which is now into its third season. It seems the vein of barely held together malice, which is the undercurrent to any good kitchen, has now been well and truly tapped for the drama contained within.

And with that we have new short film, 1 Star Review from director John Ferrer and writers Haydn Worley and Harry Metcalfe. In it we meet chef Michael (Clee) as he is exacting revenge upon several past customers who have left him bad reviews. There is a certain glee to each complainer’s demise as Michael’s ‘special set of skills’ as a chef allow him to be creative and cruel in his punishments. Once each moaning Minnie has been dispatched, Michael then duly uses their phone to change the review and star rating to something more appropriate to his tastes, and as such maintain the façade that everything is perfect in his kitchen.

This evening though, Michael is entertaining front of house. The kitchen’s closed and Michael’s date, Elysia (Parker) is the last one there. Once he’s locked up, Michael joins Elysia at the table and tries to get to know her a little, except that he already knows everything he needs to know about her from a previous review that she gave about some of his pomme fondant. Chef Michael is still seething about this 1 Star Review, and as is his way, he is going to make Elysia see the ignorance of her judgement and punish her for her mistake.

As Chef Michael pushes his agenda and infringes upon Elysia’s personal space, both writers and director do a great job of dialling up the tension in small, steady increments. Charlie Clee and Sarah J Parker also play their parts well, keeping things natural and downbeat, adding to the realism of the scenario and the tension the audience is feeling. It is a testament to the actors and filmmakers just how real this scene feels, and how familiar it will be to a lot of people, as it mirrors the ease with which predators take advantage of social rules and expectations to get what they want. The viewer, along with Elysia, recognises a lot of the red flags, really wants to get away from this date, and really wants to get out of this restaurant.

Once the third act starts, things do get a little bit slasher-flicky, but only for a little while and the bookending of the narrative rounds things up nicely. The contemporary setting of the kitchen feels relevant to the theme of the film, with the intensity and heat transferring well to a horror/slasher scenario. 1 Star Review is an edgy, modern thriller which offers a fresh slant on a popular genre, it’s well made, well thought out and well executed, and I’m not just saying that because I think John Ferrer will come and get me if I don’t.