Delicious – Movie Review | Netflix (3/5)

DELICIOUS on Netflix is a new psychological thriller from Germany that plays out in France and has an international cast. It’s slow-burn but does evolve into a full-blown horror story. Read our full Delicious movie review here!

DELICIOUS is a new Netflix thriller from Germany. Of course, this means that most of the main characters speak German. However, the story takes place during the summer in France, which results in a very international cast overall.

Also, quite a lot of English is spoken. I’m mentioning this to help ensure people won’t skip it because it isn’t a typical English-language production. This movie is quite good, so don’t miss out on it. A bit too slow at first, perhaps, but not by much. The runtime is 102 minutes.

Continue reading our Delicious movie review below. Find it on Netflix from March 7, 2025.

Unhappy White-collar People!

In Delicious, we meet a German family who spends the summer vacation in their French villa. In other words, we’re following someone with the financial means to use summer as a verb. As in “We summer in France,” which isn’t something working-class people say.

Of course, this family – consisting of a husband, John (Fahri Yardim), wife Esther (Valerie Pachner), teenage son Philipp (Casper Hoffman), and younger daughter, Alba (Naila Schubert) – isn’t quite as happy and fulfilled as they may come across.

They are used to working a lot in white-collar jobs while having others do all the manual labor for them. Also, they don’t treat those waiting on them as nicely as they like to think they do. And their kids are starting to notice the world around them and question this.

One evening, while returning home from dinner, they hit a young woman on the country road. Of course, we [the audience] already know this isn’t as accidental as it seems.

Having had a few drinks too many, they’re not ready to take her to the hospital. Instead, they take her to their home. Due to external circumstances, the young woman, Teodora from Spain, ends up working for the family during their holiday.

Who can you trust? No one really!

Every member of the family seems to live in their own bubble – some by choice while others are more lonely – so Teodora (Carla Díaz) befriends them in various ways. She finds out what they care about and how she can help them.

It all seems very nice and helpful on the surface, but we’ll soon come to understand that something more sinister is going on. You will get a lot more out of this movie if you pay close attention to the various characters.

Not least paying attention to who works and has scars on their body versus those who are healthy and have no scars on their body. It says a lot about their position in life.

The cast of Delicious is amazing. If any one of these characters fell through, it would ruin the illusion immediately as it is a very character-driven story. I especially loved seeing Dear Child‘s Naila Schuberth in a key starring role again. Keep your eyes out for her in the future!

Watch it now and avoid spoilers

What works remarkably well in Delicious is how it evolves. You’ll want to avoid spoilers for Delicious, so watch it as soon as possible and enjoy the full experience.

In order to help manage your expectations without giving any actual spoilers, I can tell you which movies it reminded me of. This is not a copy or a direct relation to these movies, but the eerie and creepy vibe of them definitely comes across in this German Netflix movie as well.

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Our DELICIOUS ending explained filled with spoilers >

Still, if you imagine that underlying creepiness of Speak No Evil and Ripley with a touch of The Strangers, then you have a good idea of what to expect. All of these are slow burn and have to do with people invading the lives of others with malicious intentions.

Watch Delicious on Netflix!

Delicious comes from writer and director Nele Mueller-Stöfen, so this really is her project from inception to execution. And it’s one you’ll want to watch – not least because people will be talking about it.

This is the feature film debut for Nele Mueller-Stöfen as a director while she’s co-written a few screenplays already.

Usually with her husband, Edward Berger (Conclave, All Quiet on the Western Front), who has then directed the movies. Looking forward, I think we can expect more movies directed by her as well. I certainly hope so!

I don’t doubt that people will enjoy different aspects of this movie depending on their genre preferences. Fans of psychological thrillers will undoubtedly revel in the character-driven plot and how people react in various situations based on their personalities.

Others, like fans of actual horror, will enjoy the aspects of this story that I will not spoil for you. For a while, it will be a lingering thing, but trust me, it does move from subtext to main text by the final act of this story. It’s really awesome and will definitely shock some viewers!

Delicious is out on Netflix globally from March 7, 2025.

Details

Director: Nele Mueller-Stöfen
Writer: Nele Mueller-Stöfen
Cast: Valerie Pachner, Fahri Yardim, Carla Díaz, Naila Schuberth, Caspar Hoffmann, Julien de Saint Jean, Nina Zem, Miveck Packa, Tom Rey, Sina Martens, Johann von Bülow, Mélodie Casta, Joep Paddenburg