Thanksgiving is a time for family, food, and (according to Director Eli Roth) copious amounts of gore in the form of comedically fake intestines and buckets of blood. No, this horror comedy isn't a traditional family-friendly holiday flick. Written by Jeff Rendell (Grindhouse) and Eli Roth (Inglorious Bastards), Thanksgiving stars Patrick Dempsey (Transformers: Dark of the Moon), Rick Hoffman (Hostel), Nell Verlaque (The Marijuana Conspiracy), Gina Gershon (Showgirls), Milo Manheim (Zombies), Jalen Thomas Brooks (Walker), Gabriel Davenport (Hotel for the Holidays), and Jenna Warren (The Family).
Thanksgiving is an institution in Plymouth, Massachusetts, a small town known for being the location where the holiday originated. The movie begins with a tragic Black Friday riot and trampling which is filmed by one of the people in attendance. A year later, most of the town is working hard at trying to get past the horrific events, but someone is hellbent on making the people responsible for the deaths on Black Friday pay for what they did.
The cast does a wonderful job in their roles. Verlaque delivers a stand-out performance as Jessica, the main character whose family is at the heart of the violence. Her thousand-mile stare after she witnesses each shocking death is authentic and on-point. Fresh off the heels of playing Joseph in Journey to Bethlehem, Milo Manheim shows off his versatility in his role as boyfriend-runner-up and possible killer, Ryan, who swoops in and wins over Jessica when her boyfriend Bobby (Brooks) seemingly vanishes after the Black Friday massacre. Not to mention, all of the victims do a wonderful job at dying. The screams, the special effects, and the performances are both haunting and hilarious.
The film opens with a great setup for the rest of the movie. Families all around town are getting ready for a typical holiday. But, of course, Eli Roth has a chaos button rigged in the seat of his director's chair because once the turkey hits the fan, so do the blood and guts. Part of the fun with Thanksgiving is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. The violence is over the top while the humor is subtle and witty. It pokes fun at and leans into the tropes expected by horror fans.
Eli Roth is a directorial powerhouse and a horror movie aficionado. He knows the genre inside and out, having directed multiple horror films that have revolutionized the industry (Hostel, Cabin Fever, The Green Inferno, etc). He's also hosted Eli Roth's History of Horror, a TV series which dives into the history and significance of horror films. Because he knows the genre so well, he is easily able to subvert and play with the tropes within it. This is one of the reasons why Thanksgiving works so well.
It isn't without its flaws, however. While it meets the expectations set by the trailer and by the slasher genre in general, it doesn't exceed them too much. In addition, there is little to no character growth across the board. But these flaws are few and are easily overlooked. Final girls are forced to get stronger. The most deserving victims stay heinous. The villains remain unrepentant.
With the vibes of classic 90's horror films like Scream, an endless number of red herrings, and creative death/murder sequences, Thanksgiving will be among the favorites of many slasher movie fanatics. The theater experience enhances all of the blood spatter if viewers don't mind the gore. If moviegoers are looking to spice up their holiday playlists or movie marathons (or if they want to never look at a dressed turkey the same again) with a little gory fun, Thanksgiving definitely fits that bill.