An axe-wielding maniac terrorizes residents of Plymouth, Mass., after a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy. Picking off victims one by one, the seemingly random revenge killings soon become part of a larger, sinister plan.
Director: Eli Roth
Cast: Patrick Dempsey, Addison Rae, Milo Manheim, Jalen Thomas Brooks, Nell Verlaque, Rick Hoffman, Gina Gershon
Release Date: November 17, 2023
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Rated R for strong bloody horror violence and gore, pervasive language and some sexual material.
Runtime: 1h 46m
Eli Roth's Thanksgiving is a gleeful, holiday themed slasher that's unabashedly campy as it delivers creative blood and gore but little else. Roth uses the framework of most Scream movies to set up a murder mystery to propel the plot forward. He's obviously not terribly concerned with the story or characters as much as he is with getting to his blood splattered set pieces. Those set pieces are perfectly exemplified by the Black Friday riot which opens the film and should give the audience a clear warning about what's coming down the road. Its manically frenetic and silly especially as the blood starts to spurt in increasingly outlandish and silly manners. Roth, for his part, lays all his cards out on the table from the start but the film struggles to maintain that manic energy it starts with as we are introduced to a fairly bland crop of fresh faced fodder for the axe. The central group collection of characters barely registers as one dimensional which makes it a bit hard to get invested in any of them as they spew out rather banal dialogue which is happy to use buzz words as flair. There’s no big expectation of character development in slashers but this group feels particularly interchangeable and disposable. Patrick Dempsey, Gina Gershon and Rick Hoffman add some credibility to the production with Dempsey getting the most screen time. Dempsey understands the assignment and is clearly having a great time throughout playing the local sheriff with a wink and a nod. On the other hand, it’s a bit confusing that Gershon and Hoffman were cast and then given practically nothing meaningful to do which is a missed opportunity. As is, Thanksgiving is a fun but mostly disposable slasher film which will probably end up a cult classic simply because of the seasonal theme more so than overall quality.
C+
