A rich couple — self-claimed master chef Dave and inexperienced writer Irene — is planning an amazing meal for their friends, but as the evening goes on, the meal keeps getting delayed. As more guests arrive, personality conflicts start to pile up and the dinner part of the dinner party seems like it’s never going to get on the table.

This over an hour dialogue-heavy film is the first full-length feature by Robert Bruce Carter. It’s a lot to solve in its short running time and as a first-time project, but give him credit for aiming for the moon.

The official site for this film claims that it’s “A dark comedy arthouse thriller western satire.” Sure, I guess. It also name drops Yorgos Lanthimos and Buñuel, so you can see just how lofty its aims are.

That said — this captures the feeling of being trapped at a fancy — and perhaps too rich for its own blood — dinner party, so if you’ve been missing that dread since we all live in our houses and eat take out instead of seeing other human beings, perhaps this will scratch that itch.

An Exquisite Meal is available On Demand and Digital from Gravitas Ventures.