Thanksgiving

I attended an advance screening of Thanksgiving (2023) this evening. The plot revolves around the infamous town of Plymouth, Massachusetts, grappling with a tragic Black Friday massacre. As the locals gear up to celebrate Thanksgiving a year later, someone decides to deliver festive justice to those responsible.

Directed by Eli Roth (Cabin Fever), the film stars Patrick Dempsey (Grey's Anatomy), Addison Rae (He's All That), Gina Gershon (Killer Joe), Nell Verlaque (The Marijuana Conspiracy), and Rick Hoffman (Ballers).

The movie is truly remarkable. I found myself smiling from the opening scene to the closing credits. It captures a 90s slasher vibe with a plethora of characters who could be the killer, a high school class facing peril, and a relatable motive for the antagonist. The kill scenes are all top-notch, earning a solid 10/10, with a perfect blend of creativity, gore, blood splatter, and more gore. The Black Friday and parade sequences are standout moments, eliciting cheers from tonight's audience. Noteworthy are the elite decapitation scenes and a sequence reminiscent of Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight. For a modern-day slasher, it doesn't get much more enjoyable than this. I'd give this an 8/10 and highly recommend it.

I had fun with this one. Absolutely no expectations going in. If you like Eli Roth, I think this is him on a pretty damn good day.

To me, the biggest flaws were that it felt rushed. Like the scenes with the most fun gore were not polished and the crowd work in the beginning was overall just poor. Also, way too many characters (poorly cast as well). My god, I had no idea what any of them were named. So forgettable. The whole thing was relatively forgettable, if I'm being honest.

But who cares! Not every movie has to leave a deeper impact. Something can just be plain entertaining. And this was that. Leave your expectations at the door and enjoy Mr. Roth's special sauce.

There were so many opportunities for this movie to go wrong. There is nothing better than a painfully stupid concept well executed to the point that it is actually good. Thanksgiving is the only Thanksgiving slasher movie I can think of. It is really enjoyable and, somewhat, grisly in parts. Eli Roth has a a unique and twisted mind. Roth does a great job in all of his movies tempering his grotesque imagery and thematic content with humor. This is no exception. The cast is good and strong- had it been a no name Director the film would not have attracted so many named stars. Patrick Dempsey is very good. I liked it.

For a horror movie fan like me, I predicted this more than I predicted Scream VI. Quite obvious who it was when the car scene happened. Excepted.

The Black Friday scene was my favorite scene. There was a lot of gore, and the scene maybe even made me giggle a time or two. It was constructed with care, and the deaths were on point, I also enjoyed the killers motive. It made sense and it was a smart point.

I also enjoyed the cat scene. It gives some kind of feeling for the killer that makes you feel sad for him. If you don't understand what I mean, then ignore this.

Overall I would give this a 6.8 out of ten.

Going into this movie with such low expectations had me blown away. I thought it was gonna be terrible, but it was actually one of the best slasher movies that have come out in recent years. The plot is simple, characters are simple, and the kills are amazing. At the beginning of this movie almost none of the characters are likeable. And to be honest, they don't get likeable until maybe halfway through the film. The acting isn't great either, Patrick Dempsey(the sheriff) was easily the best of the whole cast. There's also so really corny lines and cheesy moments but it's a slasher and they always come with that. The highlight of this entire movie is the way characters are killed off because it's straight up brutal. The movie doesn't shy away from showing blood and guts, and from what we could see only maybe two of the deaths are CGI, the rest looked like practical effects, and there's so much death. From the start of the movie you can just tell it's gonna be a wild ride. The ending was kind of weird and not at all what you expect, I guess kind of setting up a sequel, not really sure actually. But definitely a fun movie to enjoy if you have nothing better to watch.