‘Thanksgiving’ Review – A Slasher Stuffed With Gore And Fun

In the early ’00s, director Eli Roth and a group of other burgeoning filmmakers were cheekily dubbed the ‘splat-pack’. This was a play on the ‘rat-pack’ and later in the ‘80s the ‘brat-pack’. This group however was comprised of blood-caked indie directors who were changing the genre by building off the Grindhouse films of the ‘70s and ‘80s. While Roth has been active in horror as a producer, his last feature-length narrative film was 2018’s The House with a Clock in its Walls, a movie aimed squarely at a younger audience.

It feels very fitting that Roth would return to direct Thanksgiving, based on his fake trailer for the 2007 film Grindhouse. While Grindhouse was a commercial flop, it remains a bold and balls-to-the-wall love letter to the kinds of films that played at grimy 42nd Street theaters. Roth among other big genre names provided fake trailers that perfectly fit between Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s feature films. Rodriguez’s Machete would get the big screen feature treatment in 2010, and Hobo with a Shotgun (which technically was a fake trailer in some international markets also got a film of its own in 2011. Now Roth is getting a stab at getting back to directing splatter films, and we couldn’t be more excited.

The film centers around a wealthy family who owns the local mega-mart, and, to save money, scales back security on Black Friday. Doorbusters are what is literally in store as a horrific mob goes berserk, causing carnage. One year later, a mysterious stranger comes to get his revenge, armed with an axe and dressed as John Carver, the town’s founder.

Despite it being a Wednesday night, the theater was nearly full, and the crowd was pumped. From the very first seconds, Roth had this ravenous audience eating out of his gore-caked palms as waves of screams, laughter, and talkbacks filled the darkness. Even some of the better kills got applause, something we haven’t experienced since Get Out. Thanksgiving delivers, serving up a nasty slasher with all the trimmings. Yet, at the same time axes…or rather acts as a whip-smart and engaging mystery in the vein of Scream (1996). Much like the Craven film, the blending of horror and comedy lands extremely well. It’s a hard balance to get right, however, Roth manages it masterfully. Roth also uses social media in a way that interestingly serves the narrative, whilst also acting as subtle commentary. 

While the movie isn’t terrifying, some well-paced and thought-out jump scares keep the tension high. The references to films like Maniac (1980), Dressed to Kill, and, Happy Birthday to Me are a treat to serious horror fans. Even Lynne Griffin from Black Christmas makes a cameo. Hell, this is mainly a love letter to My Bloody Valentine, with its revenge plot, mixed with a costumed killer wreaking havoc on a sleepy-holiday-themed town – just swap Valentine Bluff for Plymouth. Thanksgiving is also an excellent-looking film; the production designer really captures this town that feels slightly out of time but is dragged up to eleven during the fall. Roth flexes his skills as a filmmaker keen on visuals and impresses with long takes and camera angles that convey claustrophobia for the more intense scenes in the latter half. Shots of empty school halls and various fall-dressed town locales add a dread and atmosphere that is both stylish and understated.

Roth fills the movie with likable characters and even some obvious villains get a nice level of depth and pathos. It’s the perfect pairing of an already delicious main course. As much as we enjoy the movie, it does have its flaws. The movie is paced very brisky, but almost at the expense of some character development and setting up the twist in the finale. Some of the cheesy one-liners are hit-or-miss, depending on your tolerance. These aren’t issues egregious enough to leave a bad taste in your mouth, but it certainly has some room for improvement.

Eli Roth is back and, holy shit, we hope he keeps making these amazing modern-throwback horror films. Thanksgiving is stuffed with gory good fun, and ushers in a new holiday horror classic! Not to mention the most fun we have had with an audience in a while.

Thanksgiving will debut exclusively in theaters on November 17, 2023, courtesy of Sony Pictures. 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbU50SdL8zA]