Review: THANKSGIVING (2023)

The throwback movie is a tightrope for filmmakers to walk. Overindulge in the era’s tell tale markers and the project becomes too kitschy, far too gimmicky. But deviate too far from them and suddenly the movie has lost its driving spirit that would endear it most to audiences. THANKSGIVING, the new film from director Eli Roth, traverses that thin line well; delivering what people loved about the holiday-centric slashers of the early ‘80s without slavishly copying the style or feeling loaded with too many callbacks. Roth (and writer Jeff Rendell) have delivered a thoroughly entertaining horror film with excellent splatter, scares, and a fun reminder of those beloved titles of yore. Fittingly, the issues with those movies also plague THANKSGIVING, with some sloppy script work and slow pacing holding it back from being fantastic. Still it’s a good time and should certainly enter the rotation of seasonal viewing in the future.

It’s Thanksgiving in Plymouth, Massachusetts. While most families are gathered around their table, a bunch of rowdy folks have amassed in front of Right Mart to take advantage of the Black Friday deals. Mitch (Ty Olsson) is abruptly called into work by his boss, Mr. Right (Rick Hoffman), having to leave behind his wife (Gina Gershon), his best friend Sheriff Newlon (Patrick Dempsey), and the rest of the guests. Meanwhile, Right’s daughter Jessica (Nell Verlaque) and boyfriend Bobby (Jalen Thomas Brooks), are able to leave the excruciating dinner thrown by Right and Jessica’s stepmother Kathleen (Karen Cliche) in order to go hang out with their fellow high school friends (Addison Rae, Jenna Warren, Tomaso Sanelli, and Gabriel Davenport). They end up at Right Mart and soon all hell breaks loose, with multiple deaths and horrible injuries occurring in the ensuing chaos of the mob. A year later and the town is still shaken by the events, but it only gets worse when a masked maniac dubbed “The Carver” starts killing folks around town—most of whom are somehow connected to the bloodbath at Right Mart. So the manhunt is on to solve the mystery of The Carver’s identity as the body count quickly increases.

If all that sounds like a lot of set-up to get to the main thrust of the movie, it is. The early pacing of THANKSGIVING is slow and not too engaging, mostly filled with weak jokes and exposition. But it greatly picks up when pandemonium hits the Right Mart, with Roth delivering some excellent gore, violence, and dark comedy. And this is the first indication that THANKSGIVING really is a successor to its early ‘80s inspirations, particularly works like MY BLOODY VALENTINE and THE PROWLER. People remember the awesome kills in those movies or particularly enthralling sequences, forgetting how much space exists in between them and how much backstory needs to be established before kicking off the slashing. Not only does the table need to be set to explain the revenge narrative, but filmmakers also have to introduce a bevy of characters (and explain their interconnectedness) in order to develop a nice crop of red herrings and future victims. It’s a lot of heavy lifting that should be more economic and interesting. Roth and Rendell should’ve learned from those older titles how to avoid these pitfalls, not merely emulate them.

The horrific mob scene at Right Mart is thoroughly entertaining, then the film resets to establish the new status quo—like Jess’ new boyfriend (Milo Manheim) after Bobby disappeared, the fact that there were no convictions for the deaths that night, and the growing anger at the Right family. But it doesn’t take long before the horror starts anew and it’s a pretty good slice of entertainment when it does. The Carver’s kills are fairly inventive and greatly benefit from a surprising amount of gore. While the film is fairly chaste (save for one scene), it does a good job of following its predecessors by fomenting a sense of mistrust and fear. This aids in some great jumpscares while also steadily ramping up the bodycount (and grisliness of the murders).

THANKSGIVING’s humor doesn’t always work (though this Massachusetts native appreciates the accent work as well as shots at Hanover and Methuen), but it improves over the course of the runtime, which helps those scenes without bloodshed to remain engaging to viewers. The practical effects are very impressive and gleefully disgusting, eliciting plenty of squirming and chuckles in equal measure. There are memorable kills that belong in the same mention as the ‘80s movies that inspired Roth’s latest. It’s also nice to see that, as opposed to the GRINDHOUSE trailer from which this feature originated, doesn’t go into the fake grainy film stock aesthetic, stilted acting, and period affectations. THANKSGIVING is a throwback in spirit and structure, not in visual style.

Kinda.

Roth’s film isn’t set in the ‘80s (thank God) nor is it peppered with nostalgic nods or explicit references to the heyday which it echoes. But there is a holdover from those days that still unfortunately lingers with THANKSGIVING: a fairly uninteresting visual palette. DP Milan Chadima does fine, serviceable work—but it doesn’t ever have any sense of style. Again, this is fitting with those older slashers like FINAL EXAM, APRIL FOOL’S DAY, or THE HOUSE ON SORORITY ROW, amidst dozens of others. Most people associate that period of horror with the expressionistic surrealism of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, the rural quaintness of FRIDAY THE 13TH, or the immersive psychological terror of HALLOWEEN’s cinematography. The fact of the matter is most of those slashers were churned out pretty quick and without too much regard for inventive camerawork, using a workmanlike approach to capture surroundings and keep characters properly framed for a surprising murder. Chadima’s cinematography is not bad, it just feels like Roth and company missed an opportunity to make THANKSGIVING stand out more visually and thus become more of a new iconic fixture in the canon. Even The Carver’s mask is just fine (though really it looks like Guy Fawkes crossed with The Burger King).

This all sounds like I’m down on THANKSGIVING—but I’m really not! It’s a genuinely enjoyable time at the movies and slasher fans will rejoice at this new entry. It is flawed, it is held back from being much better than it could be, but it is also so much fun. It’s a perfect throwback to those titles that were awkwardly tied in to some holiday, with an interesting mystery, all while serving up plenty of dead meat. The kills are inventive and perfectly executed, and the cast acquits themselves well in their roles (however thinly written). Along with BLOOD RAGE, Roth’s latest film definitely deserves a seat at the table for future Thanksgiving rotation. It’s an excellent movie to watch with a crowd (or just a group of friends) as folks recoil at the impressive gore and sink their teeth into the filmmakers’ bloody (and delightful) feast. THANKSGIVING isn’t perfect, but I am certainly thankful it exists.