disappointment media
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • The Snake Hole
  • About

THANKSGIVING -- A Fun Holiday Homage to Slashers

11/15/2023

0 Comments

 
Review by Jonathan Berk
Picture
Imagine hosting a Thanksgiving Day dinner with your favorite slasher movies. Picture little name cards that read Scream, Halloween, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Friday the 13th. Which would carve the turkey? Well, no matter who you may set a place for at your dinner, Director Eli Roth’s new film Thanksgiving does exactly that. It serves up plenty of slasher movie references for what will surely be a horror movie fan’s new holiday tradition.

The film begins with every introvert's nightmare: an angry mob outside a department store waiting for Black Friday sales. A tragedy ensues, and a year later a Thanksgiving-inspired killer terrorizes Plymouth, Massachusetts. A few residents are murdered, and it doesn’t take long for it to become clear there is a larger holiday-themed connection. 

Roth completely nails the tone of this film. It never sets out to “scare” the audience. That this is necessary is a misconception of the horror genre — as we tend to forget that what scares us is very subjective. Instead, he looks to shock us with inventive kills and some gruesome effects that may make even the most veteran horror viewer squirm a little. Of course, if violence and gore scare you, by all means prepare to be freaked out. However, it seems like the reaction Roth is going for is shock followed by laughs, and he succeeds in eliciting that reaction time and time again.
Picture
Like many slashers, the film centers around a group of high school students. Nell Verlaque plays Jessica, whose father owns the department store at the start of the film. It was her friends sneaking in the back to get a head start on the deals that really set the crowd off. That initial burst of horror at the top of the film establishes early what to expect, and despite some choppy editing, manages to introduce the bulk of our characters. 

The killer's design in the film works with a simple plastic mask and pilgrim-style outfit. At the heart of the story is a whodunnit all centered around familiar slasher movie cliches and references. The opening of the film is a POV reminiscent of Halloween’s opening sequence. The group of friends and their attempt to figure out who the killer is feels like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. There are tons of other blatant homages to the films Roth has confessed love for in some medium or another, that fans will likely gobble up like a plateful of candied yams. 

Thanksgiving fills a void of what to watch between Halloween and Christmas movies that have long needed filling. This holiday homage to slashers delivers a veritable cornucopia of kills and characters horror enthusiasts would surely rather host than those obnoxious relatives. Roth’s love of the genre comes across, and this may be the best full movie to come from the joke trailers between Death Proof and Planet Terror. 

Thanksgiving will be heading to theaters on November 17. 

​Rating: 4/5
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    July 2025
    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019

    Authors

    All
    Adam Donato
    Alan French
    Allison Brown
    Borja Izuzquiz
    Camden Ferrell
    Cole Groth
    Daniel Lima
    Dan Skip Allen
    Erin M. Brady
    Jonathan Berk
    Joseph Fayed
    Josh Batchelder
    Paris Jade
    Rafael Motamayor
    Sarah Williams
    Sean Boelman
    Tatiana Miranda

disappointment media

Dedicated to unique and diverse perspectives on cinema!
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • The Snake Hole
  • About