A thoroughly entertaining slasher fest
Eli Roth is back in the director’s chair for his first fictional film in five years, as he returns to the slasher genre with Thanksgiving, which originally appeared as a fake trailer on Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodrigue’s Grindhouse double bill way back in 2007. The fake trailer actually features quite a few scenes that are recreated in this new movie, so it’s clearly been ruminating in Roth’s genius mind for many years.
Despite the Grindhouse trailer being very schlocky and B Movie-esque, the actual Thanksgiving film has a somewhat different vibe to it. It has a decent budget and features a very strong cast, including Patrick Dempsey, who returns to the slasher genre for the first time since Scream 3, and puts his face back in the frame for a potential return in the upcoming Scream 7.
There is a very good story behind this slasher film, as it starts with a Black Friday sale gone wrong, resulting in multiple gruesome deaths. One year later, a killer is on the rampage and knocking off the people who were involved in causing the carnage one year earlier. The deaths are as gruesome as you would expect from Eli Roth, but the crop of strong characters keeps the film grounded enough to avoid it becoming just another throwaway slasher movie. It follows the Scream template of a whodunit, which really works well as it keeps the audience guessing who the killer is throughout the runtime.
The film isn’t without its weaknesses, as the plot does go a bit crazy from time to time, but it always remains fun and wickedly entertaining as it heads into a terrific finale, and Thanksgiving dinner is served in the most gruesome way possible. This film could be the start of a franchise, and with the slasher subgenre very much back in business, horror fans will be anticipating another serving of Thanksgiving dinner in the not too distant future.
Read More: Thanksgiving Ending Explained
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Verdict - 8/10
8/10