Thanksgiving (2023)

 According to Eli Roth, Thanksgiving as a concept has been marinating long before its original appearance as a fake trailer featured in part of Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s Grindhouse release back in 2007.  In fact Roth has been working on Thanksgiving since he was eleven years old. Growing up not far from the film’s setting of Plymouth Massachusetts with his friend writer Jeff Rendell the two youngsters dreamt of making a holiday horror movie that would take its place comfortably alongside My Bloody Valentine, April fools Day, Halloween and Black Christmas. So Thanksgiving (2023) is finally ready to hit theaters this weekend and there’s a new slasher on the block.

Beginning with a hilariously over the top sequence at a shopping store with customers pumped for their Black Friday sales. The ensuing chaos sets the scene for a year later when a mysterious  mad man in a John Carver mask starts to pick people off one by one. 

Roth absolutely knows his audience and offers up a thrill ride that rarely lets up. Young stars Nell Verlaque, Jalen Thomas Brooks, Gabriel Davenport  and Jenna Warren are all perfect in their next teen to die roles. With more experienced players Patrick Dempsy, Gina Gershon, Rick Hoffman and Amanda Barker (an actual distant relative of the real life John Carver) all doing a good job with the sometimes over the top material.

There’s plenty to make an audience wince, in particular a dinner scene that might put you off your Thanksgiving meal this year. Roth  knows how to stage a nasty kill and with a great who’s behind the mask premise that frequently subverts expectations, this movie is a lot of fun especially for anyone with a fondness for 80s slasher films.. Thanksgiving is a throwback to a bygone era, wearing its influences on its sleeve and introducing the world to a new masked maniac who’s not afraid to paint a town blood red.