MPAA Rating: R/Genre: Slasher/Stars: Patrick Dempsey, Nell Verlaque, Addison Rae, Jalen Thomas Brooks, Milo Manheim, Rick Hoffman, Gina Gershon, Tomaso Sanelli, Gabriel Davenport, Jenna Warren, Karen Cliche, Jeff Teravainen, Joe Delfin, Ty Olsson, Mika Amonsen, Shailyn Griffin, Tim Dillon, Amanda Barker, Chris Sandiford, Derek McGrath, Lynne Griffin; Voice of: Adam MacDonald/Runtime: 106 minutes
I think it can safely be said that, among the vast and storied halls of horror cinema, there is one hall that is worthy of mentioning at the beginning of this review. No it’s not the one with all the possessed kids nor is it the one with the bloodthirsty animals or even the menacing forces from another planet. Rather, this is the hall that deals exclusively with what I like to call “holiday-oriented horror cinema”. This, for those of you who don’t know, is a subsection of horror cinema that deals exclusively with horror-filled events, typically caused by a killer or other viciously malevolent forces, on a specific holiday and which usually sees at the very least a few people viscerally butchered (duh). It is in this section that one can find the original Halloween, 1986’s April Fool’s Day, 1980’s New Year’s Evil, 1974’s Black Christmas (and the 2006 remake come to think), 1981 and 2009’s My Bloody Valentine, 2007’s Trick r Treat, and even 2015’s Krampus to name but a few examples. Yet, despite the presence of a few tangentially (if at all) linked to a certain holiday themed horror films that have come out since the release of 2015’s Krampus darn near close to 8 years ago as of this writing, the fact still remains that we haven’t really had a genuine entry in this distinct subgenre in quite some time. So of course, it shouldn’t surprise anyone to learn that someone has decided to blow the 8 years’ worth of dust off this particular subgenre and give us a new one in the form of the slice of cinema I am reviewing for you today known simply as Thanksgiving (gee I wonder when it’s set). What should surprise you however is the fact that not only is the director who chose to give this time-honored subgenre a fresh spin on the cinematic dancefloor infamous horror director Eli Roth, but it’s also the fact that the film is actually (and more than a tad bit surprisingly given Roth’s prior directorial track record) really freaking good. Like not just good as in “well that was a fun time, but I think that is one slice and dice of horror cinema that I won’t be watching again anytime soon if ever” good. Rather, I mean good as in “that was a bonafide blast from beginning to end and not only would I without question see that in theaters again, but I would definitely buy it on home media from someone NOT named Best Buy” good. No, it is by no means a flawless cinematic endeavor by any stretch of the imagination so if you go into this expecting that then you might leave just a wee bit disappointed. However, with the aid of well-done work on both sides of the camera, Thanksgiving is a well carved cinematic effort that I have no doubt in my mind that horror fans are sure to go gobble gobble over time and time again.
The plot is as follows: Thanksgiving gets its slicing and dicing narrative underway by taking us back in time to the long-ago year of 2022 where we quickly make our way to the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts. A quaint little town that might have the small-town components of everyone knowing everyone and the rumor mill being alive and well to name but a few examples, but is also distinct enough due in no small part to the fact that it just so happens to be the community where the first Thanksgiving in United States history was held. As a result, to say that there is an extraordinarily high degree of pride amongst the people in the community toward this particular achievement might be a wee bit of an understatement. Rather, I think a more apt way of looking at it would be to say that this is a community where Thanksgiving is very much a way of life, pumpkin pie is always served in the elementary school cafeteria, and talking turkey might actually be a viable career choice (or at the very least an elective taught at the local high school). All jokes aside though dear reader, we see that it isn’t long before we are finding ourselves unfortunate witnesses to a blemish on the turkey dinner table stylized tapestry of this town. One that, without going into spoilers, involves a Black Friday sale gone wrong, some of the teenage community in town having an inadvertent role in the mayhem, and people within the town being horrifically trampled to death in the ensuing chaos. One year later and we see that not a whole lot in town really has changed all that much right down to the store where the horrific Black Friday tragedy occurred a year prior deciding to hold another sale despite the misgivings of quite a few of the townsfolk. Yet this year we see that it isn’t just prices at the Black Friday sale that are going to be sliced and/or slashed quite significantly. This is because unbeknownst to the town, a few of her denizens are about to become the targets of a vicious and ruthless psychopath in a John Carver mask. One that has not only the implements of Thanksgiving at their disposal to aid them in their intended bloodbath, but who also has a serious axe to grind and is dead set on ensuring they are able to get their bloody vengeance on those who wronged them. Thus can some of the young people in town to say nothing of the local sheriff find and put a stop to this masked menace before they are able to successfully carry out their heinous plot or is this one Thanksgiving where more than the turkey is about to get carved up around the table? That I shall leave for you to discover for yourself dear reader….
Now right off, it is worth pointing out that the work done behind the camera on this slice and dice of horror cinema is surprisingly (for Roth especially) not that bad. This starts with the fact that, even though giving a slice and dice of horror cinema like this a theme set around a specific holiday might seem more than a bit contrived, I can assure you that said contrivance is surface level at worst. This is because in many respects this film is definitely a time-honored example of the slasher films of ol’ done and done right. To be sure there is definitely a bit of camp present in this cinematic affair, but thankfully Roth never permits more than a few laughs at most before then making its way back to the chills and violence at just the right moment. Perhaps one of the key examples in this is the brilliant work done by cinematographer Milan Chadima. Indeed the quite lively camera work on display here definitely synchs up with the mood of the film in that it is able to give the movie goer a twistedly and delightfully giddy sense of amusement to the same degree as it is able to skillfully capture the quite vivid instances of gore-drenched horror peppered throughout the film’s 106 minute runtime. Of course, it is in regard to that aforementioned gore where we get to witness quite the change from Roth. You see dear reader, Roth is the kind of guy who fairly early on became known (or notorious depending on your perspective) for putting as much gore and viscerality in his films as he possibly could. Now for gore hounds this might not be a particular issue, but for the majority of movie goers the truth is you can only take bleak and brutal violent acts so far before it all starts to feel a bit forced at best and at worst will leave you starting to place empty bags in the seat next to you just to be prepared. Thankfully, in this film the violence is still just as visceral and brutal as we have come to expect from Roth, but he also does an ingenious job at also inserting a welcome degree of joyfully perverse glee into the proceedings as well. As a result, the gore and bloodshed here feels less like we are as helpless as the victims like you might have seen in The Green Inferno or some of Roth’s other films and more like we are being invited behind the camera with Roth as he beckons us over with a sly and giant smile from ear to ear. Even so though, it should also be pointed out that perhaps the reason we aren’t meant to feel as helpless as the victims isn’t so much because they’re helpless, but rather because the script as penned by both Roth and Jeff Rendell makes the wonderful choice to have the victims here be more than a tad bit jerkish and not entirely worth rooting for. As a result, seeing them get taken out by the killer feels a lot less cruel than it might be in other horror films and more twistedly amusing a’la 1000 Ways to Die. With all of that said though, there is also no denying that the mystery at the heart of the film revolving around the killer really isn’t that much of a mystery. In fact, I would be less surprised if you guessed the killer fairly early on than if you weren’t able to right up until the end like other films of a similar ilk. Yet whereas in some films this might be an issue here it isn’t really since that’s not a main concern for this film. Instead, this one is simply meant to entertain you and keep you hooked from beginning to end and in that regard the work done behind the camera is definitely evidence that Roth and his team have succeeded admirably.
Of course, the other element that helps to ensure this slice and dice of horror cinema is entertaining from beginning to end would have to be the collection of solid performances from the undeniably talented group of performers in front of the camera as well. This starts with none other than Patrick “Not just McDreamy from Grey’s Anatomy” Dempsey in the role of Sheriff Eric Newlon and honestly he’s actually really good here. Indeed take the affability and earnestness of Dewey Riley from Scream, mix it together with the more than slightly bumbling dim-wittedness of Deputy Do-Right, and what you might get is this guy. Yet despite that seeming like a recipe for disaster, there is no denying that Dempsey really does take the part, run with it, and really just look like he is having a blast with every single minute of screentime that he is given. Alongside the work done here by Dempsey however, we as movie goers are also treated to a wonderful turn here from distinct character actor Rick Hoffman (Louis Litt on the TV show Suits) as our main heroine’s dear ol’ dad Thomas. Now, given this guy’s pedigree for playing characters who take an absolute delight in being no more or less than pure Grade-A jerks who you love seeing get their comeuppance in some way, you might be thinking that this is yet another entry in that distinct performance ledger. Yet whilst there are moments where Hoffman does in fact play to his strengths in that respect, he also does a wonderful job at sprinkling in quite a few moments of humanity as well that help to really mold the character and make him feel more like an actual person rather than a cliched caricature. Suffice it to say it is a wonderful turn and one that definitely fits the performer behind to a t and then some. Besides the aforementioned pair, the film also does a terrific job in regards to providing relative newcomer to the silver screen Nell Verlaque a chance to shine in the role of the film’s heroine Jessica. I say this because not only is this character one of the more three-dimensional in terms of characterization amongst the younger group of talent at play here, but she also manages to make for a fairly relatable and likable character. As a result, not only do you immediately empathize with her as a person, but as the film goes on you really find yourself rooting for her to succeed in both catching the killer and staying alive in the process. Sadly as much as I enjoyed the work done by the rest of the young people in this slice and dice of horror cinema there is one glaring issue with their performances. That being that they really are a pretty terrible group of people. No the performances they give are by no means terrible, but the truth is that by and large they are less characters and more in the bloody vein of just mean-spirited archetypes that we’ve seen in countless other horror films like this that ultimately don’t be surprised if you find yourself really looking forward to seeing them finally get put on the carving block. Suffice it to say that when you also factor in efforts from such talents as Karen Cliche, Ty Olsson, Joe Delfin, and in a small yet vital role Gina Gershon among others it’s clear that while deep characterization is by no means part of the job description here for this cast that by no means should take away from the fact that the majority do still a good job with the material they have been given here.
All in all and at the end of the day is Thanksgiving a perfect slice of horror cinema? Tragically, I would love to say that, but alas I am afraid that is not the case. With that said though, is this the worst cinematic turkey since the one that was put in the oven too early by Cousin Eddie and his wife Catherine in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation? Thankfully, I can definitely say that is not the case (to the benefit of both my eyes AND my stomach). Indeed I know I have found the vast majority of Roth’s previous directorial efforts to range from alright to good (with 2018’s The House With a Clock In Its Walls being perhaps the main outlier), but I must admit that this is probably the first one in quite some time that I genuinely dig the heck out of dear reader. More than that, I feel that this slice of horror cinema is very much a wonderful representation of the dinner at the heart of the holiday that makes up its title. By that I mean here is a cinematic experience that, much like the prep work for Thanksgiving dinner, does get extremely messy and is by no means a perfect affair by any stretch of the imagination. At the same time though it is through skilled work done by a group of undeniably talented people that we as consumers are eventually treated to a bountiful feast be it of the cinematic or cuisine variety. In that respect, and when you take the time to factor in the most assuredly capable work done behind the camera as well as the collection of game and fairly engaging performances by the cast of talent in front of the camera, there is no denying that Thanksgiving “2023” might not ever be anyone in the Academy’s first (or even 20th) choice for a Best Picture Oscar nod. Having said that however, there is also no denying that this is most assuredly both a welcome surprise in the back half of this year to say nothing of one extremely well-done cinematic feast that I can promise you fans of horror cinema are sure to relish getting the chance to have seconds of for years and years to come. Now if you’ll excuse me dear reader I think I’ll go and do just that, but not before I take some to enjoy this truly delicious pumpkin pie that has just “mysteriously” found its way onto my desk….make of that what thou will dear reader and Happy Belated Thanksgiving! On a scale of 1-5 I give Thanksgiving “2023” a solid 4 out of 5.
