By Keith Walther | Rose Law Group Reporter
A typical horror slasher flick meets turkey day in this new film from Eli Roth, the director who established a new baseline for gore with films like “Hostel” and “Cabin Fever.” “Thanksgiving” sets the table with more of the same, frequent bloodletting, stomach churning imagery of the human body’s internals, and a side of bad acting. This is the cheapest and weakest form of horror meant to disgust more than it’s meant to frighten.
If there’s a home of Thanksgiving holiday origin, then it would be Plymouth, MA, the landing site of the settling pilgrims aboard the Mayflower. As with any towns across America, however, consumerism has taken over with a population fixated on scoring the best Black Friday deals, lining up outside of stores Thursday night. The mood turns to anything but festive when the raucous crowd sees a bunch of teenagers get early access to Right Mart. A rampaging riot ensues with multiple people brutally killed or injured that resulted in no arrests.
One year later, the town clearly wants to move on and forget about that tragedy. Unfortunately, a murderer dressed like a pilgrim and sporting a John Carver mask won’t let them forget, as he/she begins targeting the people responsible for the ill-fated riot. Jessica (Nell Verlaque), a survivor of that incident rightly concerned that she and her friends are on the killer’s hit list, seeks to unmask the perpetrator with the help of Sheriff Eric Newlon (Patrick Dempsey). Playing a deadly game of cat and mouse with a rising body count, time is not on their side to stop the violent plot from reaching its grim conclusion.
Based on his mock movie trailer from 2007’s “Grindhouse,” director Eli Roth has been wanting to make “Thanksgiving” ever since. From beheading to gutting to dismembering to cooking alive, he finds a variety of the most gruesome methods of killing to display on screen. Some of these death scenes are so over the top, viewers can’t help but chuckle at the absurdity. This actually helps to supply the limited entertainment value the film has. Despite the many opportunities to facilitate more suspense and horror through subtlety, Roth decides on the direct, hit-over-the-head approach which some do enjoy.
As a slasher flick, it is a poor man’s “Scream.” Instead of Ghostface, the mass murderer is in a much less intimidating getup. Also, unlike “Scream,” there is not much secret as to who is behind the John Carver mask. Eli Roth does a poor job of creating mystery, using obvious misdirection ploys and foreshadowing that all but point glowing neon arrows at who the killer is. This makes the big reveal at the end seem almost silly and contrived. Combined with a cast of unlikable, undeveloped characters, any anticipation or investment in the outcomes is dissolved in a sea of blood and guts.
There’s not much to say about the acting other than how bad it was. An assortment of unproven young actors and actresses who wouldn’t be able to make it on a daytime soap opera, a Tik Tok star with no acting ability whatsoever, and Patrick Dempsey who hasn’t had a good performance in a movie since “Can’t Buy Me Love” in 1987 sums up the underwhelming cast.
If you’re the type of horror fan who enjoys a simplistic, ridiculously violent grotesquerie, then “Thanksgiving” is the movie for you. Otherwise, watching this film is like taking a bite of what looks to be a succulent holiday turkey only to realize it’s rubbery tofu.
This movie earns
