Thanksgiving was directed by Eli Roth and was based on Roth’s mock trailer from Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’ 2007 double feature Grindhouse. 16 years on and here’s a full length Slasher adaptation that plays a little with the idea of American Consumerism and does a surprisingly good job of following in the footsteps of classic 90’s slashers, though occasionally it goes overboard with the extent of its violence.

 

In Thanksgiving, a year on from a tragedy at a Rightmart on the eve of Black Friday; Plymouth, Massachusetts finds itself being tormented by a creative killer wearing a John Carver mask working their way through a specific list of victims.

 

Thanksgiving benefits from a sense of humour and a Final Destination level of creativity with its dispatches, in conjunction with a solid little mystery at its core that keeps you engaged till the reveal. While its characters are developed little more than stock, it has an effective cast with Patrick Dempsey standing out as the local Sheriff.

 

Director Eli Roth’s tendencies towards gratuitousness aren’t avoided entirely in Thanksgiving, with a couple of scenes being a bit too much, though the majority of the violence plays towards cartoonishness to the film’s benefit.

 

Thanksgiving is a surprisingly compelling throwback to 90’s slashers, with a sense of humor and creativity that is only slightly let down by underdeveloped characters and director Eli Roth’s penchant for gratuitousness.