Think with me, if you will: Why are there no major Thanksgiving-related pieces of media? Why does Charlie Brown have to bear the entire weight of the holiday on his tiny little shoulders?
Sure, we have a few songs to listen to each year. Bing Crosby’s “I’ve Got Plenty to be Thankful For” or various food related songs like James Brown’s “(Do the) Mashed Potatoes”, Ray Charles’ “Sweet Potato Pie”, or my personal favorite, the “Glee” rendition of “Turkey Lurkey Time” all come to mind, but we be expected can’t just listen to a food playlist all day. Food isn’t the only thing Thanksgiving is about, right?
We run into a similar issue looking at films. We have the aforementioned “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” — even though it’s technically only a television special — and the animated “Free Bird” along with films that aren’t really about Thanksgiving at all but contain some aspect of the holiday like “Knives Out,” “You’ve Got Mail” or “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.”
Potentially an even better question: why do we not have a major Thanksgiving inspired horror movie? Horror is a genre that will famously exploit anything, for better or for worse. We have John Carpenter’s “Halloween” or “Black Christmas,” “My Bloody Valentine” and for god’s sake we even have “April Fools Day,” but where is the love for the tastiest holiday of them all? Don’t the Pilgrims deserve a good scare too? Any horror fan can tell you that holiday horror is a classic, and it seems strange that we’ve yet to have a major motion picture to tackle such a popular holiday.
Eli Roth aims to change that this year. To bring Thanksgiving to the heights of cinema this fall with his 2023 slasher flick … “Thanksgiving.”
And who better to star in this film than … Addison Rae?
And our co-lead is … “Grey’s Anatomy”’s very own McDreamy?
And the film is a feature-length version of a parody trailer from a previous film?
I don’t know about you, but I smell an Oscar. Maybe even a Nobel Peace Prize.
So, on Thanksgiving eve, I set upon the Mayflower — my 2009 Honda Odyssey — to my local movie theater to witness the cinematic event of the year.
And to my suprise, the film was actually … delightful? Now, it’s no moody, slow burn like “Halloween” or a commentary on women’s agency and systemic misogyny like “Black Christmas,” but it’s undoubtedly fun as hell. We open on a riot in a Walmart style superstore that results in the deaths of multiple shoppers and sets up the motive for the killings the following Thanksgiving. The scene is almost too realistic, and its claustrophobic direction was too much for some moviegoers in my theater. From that point on, the film is a 90 minute slash-fest with increasingly brutal and creative killings — a trampoline-related kill sticks in my head particularly well.
The film focuses on a group of teens who are stalked by a killer wearing a John Carver — yes, the Pilgrim — mask as they scramble to figure out his identity. The film utilizes social media in a refreshing, grounded way that feels like at least one real teenager was consulted when writing the script. The whodunit aspect is also well done, with the opening scene establishing multiple potential suspects with different motives, even though fans familiar with the genre will likely pick out the real killer within the first few minutes.
Most importantly, however, the film is unquestionably Thanksgiving-related. The final act is framed around a Thanksgiving dinner and the setting lends itself nicely as a town comminited to celebrating Thanksgiving in an over-the-top manner. There are a plethora of Thanksgiving themed puns throughout, and even the killer’s motive is vaguely related to the themes embedded within the holiday.
That being said, the film is not for the faint of heart, and if you’re looking for a family friendly film to throw on while at your grandparents house this holiday, “Thanksgiving” is probably not your best option.
So, is Eli Roth’s “Thanksgiving” the start of a Thanksgiving film renaissance? Do we even need a Thanksgiving renaissance? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure: It won’t be long before “Thanksgiving 2” carves its way into theaters.