In 2007, there was a double feature of Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror and Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof called Grindhouse. Directors Robert Rodriguez, Eli Roth, Rob Zombie, Edgar Wright, and Jason Eisner all created fictitious trailers to feature in Grindhouse with two (Machete and Hobo with a Shotgun) being developed into feature films. Now Roth enters that group as his Thanksgiving trailer finally became a real movie. It was a blast.
When I first saw the trailer for Thanksgiving in Grindhouse, I was legit terrified by how brutal it was (I was 8 cut me some slack). I was hoping to recapture that feeling when I went into the theater, and while I was a lot less scared, I had way more enjoyment for the film.
Thanksgiving follows a group of teens who inadvertently cause a tragedy at a superstore on Thanksgiving. The group, and others involved, are then hunted down by a masked killer one year later. With a great cast featuring Patrick Dempsey, Nell Verlaque, Addison Rae, and Rick Hoffman, Thanksgiving excelled at expanding on brutality with fun, inventive kills.
I’ll get my critiques out of the way now because they’re just broad feelings and I’m biased. The movie does have some flaws when it comes to writing, acting, and continuity. There are cliches up to my neck and bad decisions all around. I think a couple of red herrings could have been better developed, as one of them isn’t around for the final confrontation, just the end scene. The reveal of the killer was interesting but if you pay attention to some chemistry between some actors, it becomes clear well before the reveal. But even then, I still had a lot of fun with it.
It was legitimately uncomfortable watching the tragedy that kicks off the movie, in the best way possible. Roth did a great job building up the tension and when it finally explodes, it’s incredibly rewarding. Throughout the movie, the tension when the killer is stalking a victim really got to me, even when I knew what was going to happen, (namely with a trampoline and a mascot). The climax was very well done and really echoed what Roth put in Grindhouse.
Another thing that translated well was the kills. Too many slashers are uninventive with their kills. Too many stabs and knife swipes and not enough creativity. Well, Thanksgiving brought it, in both numbers and uniqueness. The killer used their environment to their advantage which led to kills that had my whole theater yelling. Even the opening tragedy had brutal scenes in it. The motivation was pretty solid, which makes it a solid rewatch, even though some of the cliche lines they deliver make it very obvious.
I will give it this too- the killer is very principled. While I would have loved to have seen an absolute slaughter-fest when the killer had their chance, I can appreciate that they were only looking to get revenge on those who caused the tragedy, not any bystanders.
FINAL THOUGHTS
In my brief letterboxd review, I called Thanksgiving this year’s Malignant. What I mean is, it’s a movie that is incredibly fun to watch and rewatch and I don’t care about its flaws. Director Eli Roth really cares about the genre, and you can tell by how he made this movie. It takes itself seriously enough so it’s not just some goofy movie but has enough fun with itself to acknowledge its absurdity. The ending leaves plenty of room for a sequel, and if there is one and Roth is directing it, I will be there.
