Thanksgiving (Eli Roth, 2023)

Door busters, head busters, this slasher has it all

The genesis of Thanksgiving can be traced back to a mock trailer Roth created for inclusion between the two feature presentations of Grindhouse (Planet Terror and Death Proof, directed respectively by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino).

Although the actualized Thanksgiving is significantly different than the earlier short, it’s impressive to note how many moments from it survived and made it into the feature. Even if some of them, as fun as they might be, seem entirely unnecessary and irrelevant (looking at you, trampoline).

Thanksgiving is a Gen Z slasher that feels like a throwback to the 90’s iteration of the genre. It has a polished, slick sheen, leans heavily on the whodunit format, and even stars Patrick Dempsey. Despite the gnarly goriness of several of the murders, it feels like this was made to be watched in a mall metroplex. And while there is much that feels familiar about it, it’s surprisingly original and unexpected at many turns.

The story begins a year prior to the spree killings that are the focus of the film. In an extended sequence that introduces an extended cast, we are witness to a Black Friday stampede gone wrong, resulting in multiple casualties — and a first glimpse at the sort of gleefully graphic deaths that lay in store.

One year hence, a slasher descends on the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts, decked out like pilgrim John Carver and apparently targeting survivors of the aforementioned Right Mart massacre.

I say apparently, because the film takes some liberty in coloring outside the lines in terms of selecting its victims. While most targets make sense (like final girl Jessica and her family, since her father owns Right Mart) others seem a touch more random. The focus of the film — and the killer — is predominantly on Jessica’s friend group, although there were clearly a lot more people present at the big box bloodbath, many of whom arguably shoulder much greater blame for the carnage that occurred.

But logic is somewhat beside the point in a slasher movie, isn’t it? Don’t think too much, just sit back and revel in the kills and thrills.

And what kills! Sandwiched between a wonderful cut-in-two-by-a-dumpster kill and nightmarish roasted-like-a-turkey death, are a variety of inventive and grisly murders that while not quite pushing the envelope as much as Terrifier, certainly gives the impression that Roth was tiptoeing up to the line of mainstream acceptability and stopping juuuuust short of going over it.

Look, I’m not saying that Thanksgiving is an especially great horror movie, or even necessarily one of the better slasher movies, but horror films centered on turkey day are thin on the ground. But if you’re looking for an entertaining diversion centered around the holiday, which offers terror and mystery, while also poking fun at the hypocrisy of the American tradition and society's greater consumerism culture, then on those terms it is more than enough.