Director: Eli Roth 
Starring: Patrick Dempsey, Addison Rae, Milo Manheim, Jalen Thomas Brooks, Nell Verlaque, Rick Hoffman, Gina Gershon
Certificate: 18
Run Time: 106 mins

Thanksgiving is the new film by Eli Roth, returning to his horror roots since the uncharacteristically family-friendly The House with a Clock in its Walls back in 2018. Roth’s filmography is a mixed bag – Hostel was chillingly nasty, The Green Inferno and Death Wish are both better than their negative reviews suggest but still far from masterpieces and Knock Knock was a mean-spirited, patience-testing exercise. 

Thanksgiving started life as a fake trailer for Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s Grindhouse double-feature. It’s the third trailer to receive the feature-length treatment, with Machete (which also spawned a sequel) and Hobo With A Shotgun preceding it. Thanksgiving’s premise is simple – in 2022, the citizens of Plymouth, Massachusetts go nuts at a Black Friday and a stampede results in multiple deaths. The following year, a killer who dons a John Carver mask enacts his revenge in gruesome fashion.

Thanksgiving doesn’t rewrite the horror rulebook but it’s good fun in the moment. Roth is clearly enjoying chewing the scenery and delivering some inventive kills, even if the film isn’t particularly scary because Roth opts for a tongue-in-cheek cheesiness instead. There’s some interesting political sub-text with the stampede taking place at an alternative RightMart supermarket, offering a critique on the greedy and materialistic nature of Black Friday. The third act is particularly fun as the serial killer reaches their peak, with some satisfying slayings as the table is set for a Thanksgiving meal. 

The cast are all fair game too and receive good development considering the relatively brisk 106 minute running time. Jeff Rendell’s script is a little juvenile in places but it does the job economically. Nell Verlaque is the standout as Jessica, the film’s protagonist. Her father, Thomas (Rick Hoffman) owns the aforementioned RightMart store and she is lusted after two boyfriends, who she flits between during the film, Bobby (Jalen Thomas Brooks) and Ryan (Milo Manheim). Verlaque is excellent, effortlessly conveying the young adult who is trying to decide on a life path but is confined to the mundane boundaries of her home town. Her career will undoubtedly propel, thanks to her scream queen turn here. Patrick Dempsey is also great in a late career multi-faceted performance after appearing in a fair amount of dross over the years. He plays Sheriff Eric Newlon who is tasked with leading the investigation into the identity of the killer. 

Thanksgiving is ultimately far more fun that it has any right to be and it’s well-timed with the American federal holiday, as well as Black Friday and Christmas. For those who are increasingly cynical over the commercialisation of these holidays, this film will prove a compelling antidote and I suspect it’ll age well because of this. It doesn’t set the horror genre alight but Thanksgiving is a blast from start to finish with an engaging whodunnit, gory kills, surprise twists and a surprising amount of character development and heart. 

⭐⭐⭐ (Good)