After a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, a mysterious Thanksgiving-inspired killer terrorizes Plymouth, Massachusetts – the birthplace of the holiday. Picking off residents one by one, what begins as random revenge killings are soon revealed to be part of a larger, sinister holiday plan. Will the town uncover the killer and survive the holidays… or become guests at his twisted holiday dinner table?

For in-depth thoughts on Thanksgiving, please see my colleague Mike Vaughn’s review from its original theatrical release here.

Video Quality

Thanksgiving arrives on Blu-Ray with a 1080p presentation in its original 2.39:1 aspect ratio that looks spectacular in high definition. The clarity throughout is beyond reproach with subtle textures in the environment and costumes coming through perfectly. Black levels have a substantial amount of depth and do not fall victim to digital noise even in the consistent spate of darker scenes. The cinematography is a standout element of the film, and this disc handles things perfectly. Color saturation is fantastic with the color palette saturating the screen as necessary. Skin tones are natural overall with exposed skin showing off particular details such as blood, burns, and scars. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has delivered a fine presentation, even if this should have gotten a 4K UHD Blu-Ray.

Audio Quality

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is a grand representation of this material. The soundscape is very kinetic and springs to life when the narrative calls for it. This story features noises coming from unexpected places, items penetrating flesh, and more emanating from various directions. The movie conjures the environmental sounds effectively, and the track maintains exceptional detail even when there are violent confrontations. Dialogue comes through clearly as it balances well with the soundtrack and the sound effects. The low end wakes up when it needs to for some nice texture. This track handles everything without issue. There are English, English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles provided.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Director Eli Roth and Screenwriter Jeff Rendell provide such a fun commentary track in which they gleefully take you through every scene of the movie and provide great details about the production.

Behind The Screams: A four-minute featurette in which the cast and creative team discuss their fervor for creating this story, childhood filmmaking exploits, and much more.

Gore Galore: A nearly four-minute look at how the creative team strove to elevate the art of gory kills.

Outtakes: A five-minute collection of flubbed lines, malfunctioning props, goofing around, and more.

Deleted, Alternate & Extended Scenes: A nearly 35-minute collection of unused footage that is really worth checking out if you enjoyed the film.

Massachusetts Movies – Eli & Jeff’s Early Films: A 12-minute piece that provides archival material from the youthful exploits of Eli Roth and Jeff Rendell. You can watch this footage with optional audio commentary from the duo.

Previews

Final Thoughts

Thanksgiving is a terrifically fun return to the director’s chair for Eli Roth as he serves up one of the best movies of his career. This feature film may be quite a bit different from the fake trailer that inspired it, but it takes the concept to some really fun places. The film is built for a mass audience, yet Roth ensures his gorehound sensibilities are represented in some of the gnarliest deaths we have seen in studio horror in some time. For a slasher film, it simply delivers the goods. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has provided a Blu-Ray disc that sports a stellar A/V presentation and a good amount of supplements for those who do decide to check it out. Any horror fan will be happy to have this in their collection. Recommended

Thanksgiving is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD, and Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.