Write a commentThe holidays aren't always what you see in a Hallmark movie. Doesn't matter which holiday either.
Easter used to be a big deal in my house growing up. My parents would dress me up for church. At the time, I was an altar server so I was wearing uncomfortable clothing along with the requisite cassock. Due to my frequent growth spurts, I towered over my fellows acolytes as well as the priest. It was embarrassing.
I recall once complaining to my mother about dressing fancy and how it restricted my movement while on the altar. You know, as though I was doing calisthenics up there. My mother's response was simple: "We're supposed to suffer in this life for our eternal reward."
I thought about this for a moment before responding with, "So, if I split my pants on the altar, that'll get me in good with God?"
My mother rolled her eyes, sighing. "You're so difficult."
Similarly, Thanksgiving was always unnecessarily stressful. Having grown up overweight and bullied throughout school, eating in public became somewhat of a chore. My anxiety would often take over and I would eat very sparsely. A slice of turkey, maybe some pea salad. Rarely would I gorge myself. Furthermore, my grandparents' house only had one bathroom and we had over a dozen family members. I learned early on that it was best not to play Russian roulette when it came to my stomach.
Regardless of what Thanksgiving should be, it rarely ever was that in my household. Some say it is about togetherness, others about giving thanks. Some say it is simply about food and football. Some of the cynical capitalists in society are gearing up to hit up the Black Friday sales. I've never been one for crowds so Black Friday sales never appealed to me. With my broad shoulders and general height, I can't exactly dip and dodge. Like a rock in a river, I typically obstruct.
Eli Roth's "Thanksgiving" bites off more than it can chew at times. It begins with a sequence of abject horror on Thanksgiving night regarding Black Friday sales. People get trampled to death, others die due to their greed, but the scene is efficient in its intent. It introduces us to all the characters as well as the inciting incident. It also provides us with something Roth has become known for: copious amounts of gore. A year later, people are stalked and killed by a man dressed as a Pilgrim. A group of teens does their best to avoid becoming the next victims while also attempting to uncover who it is that is doing all the killing.
For anyone that is even a passive fan of the slasher genre, this is pretty basic stuff. Personally, I've seen more than my share. After John Carpenter's "Halloween" in 1978, there was a boom in slasher movies. Granted, "Halloween" wasn't the first to successfully juggle the tropes of the genre, but it was arguably the most successful to that point. Afterwards, all the copycats came out. Movies that had extremely little plot but incredibly high body counts. One of my professors in college told me, "You need just enough plot to hang your hat on." For many of the slasher films of this era, the hooks on which those hats were hung would need a microscope to find them. That's not to say these films aren't fun. In one of my previous reviews, I discussed the merits of these kinds of "so bad, they're good" movies.
For those unaware, "Thanksgiving" (2023) is based on a fake trailer that premiered with the film "Grindhouse" back in 2007. "Grindhouse" was two 80-85 minute films and four fake trailers. With names like Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, Rob Zombie, Edgar Wright and Eli Roth, it was very surprising when the film didn't really find its audience. It seemed inevitable to become a cult classic. Eli Roth's contribution to "Grindhouse" was the fake trailer to a crummy slasher called "Thanksgiving". It was hilarious, gruesome and left many wanting Roth to make a feature of it. It took almost 17 years but he finally did.
"Thanksgiving" (2023) isn't exactly a feature length film version of that trailer. Instead, it feels more like if the version of "Thanksgiving" from the fake trailer existed, "Thanksgiving" (2023) feels like a remake of it from the 2010s. It's a clever sidestep from the original trailer and, surprisingly, it works very well.
There is some social commentary (greed=bad), but you're coming for the kills. One thing about Roth, at least for me, is that he's had glimpses of talent for his entire career. He's never felt as though he's lived up to the promise of his debut "Cabin Fever". There are moments in many of his films which make me appreciate him, but he's never quite hit one out of the park. "Thanksgiving" might be the closest thing he's come to since "Cabin Fever".
Many of his films could be considered "torture porn", a subgenre made popular by the "Saw" franchise beginning in 2004. They're deliberately difficult movies to watch. While there are times Roth has gone out of his way to inject some kind of humor into these horrific films, it never came off like I think he intended.
"Thanksgiving" is the closest Roth has come to the successful meshing of gore, humor and crowd pleasing. Many of the kills are over the top and gruesome. Only one sequence dances on the line of torture porn, but, for the most part, it all works. Roth has always had an issue with characters in his films being even remotely pleasant. More often than not, they're crass and ignorant morons you're just waiting to get killed off. This film doesn't exactly buck the trend. I guess it works to a degree because you don't want to fully identify with people if they're going to be horrifically eviscerated shortly thereafter.
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An issue I took with this film is who they reveal to be the killer. Though I won't say who it is specifically, it becomes obvious pretty early on who it is. I've always had an issue with seeing an actor who is just slightly better than the film they're in and wondering, "What are they doing in this?" Usually, directly after I ask myself this question, I'm disappointed because, in these kinds of films, they want an actor of a little more gravitas and talent to be able to handle the killer monologue at the end.
For the most part, the film is full of practical unknowns save for a few actors. That narrows down the suspect pool significantly.
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"Thanksgiving" isn't trying to be anything besides an entertaining slasher film. When it strays too far into the social commentary, it loses me and the film slows down. There's something to be said about a film that is competently made and is entertaining. I still have hope that Roth is going to make something that truly throws me for a loop. I can hope.
So, in the next couple of days when you're hanging around with your family around the dinner table and they inevitably get on your nerves, fill your plate with your favorite foods, find the nearest TV and put on "Thanksgiving".
Extricate yourself from the holiday suffering to watch a bunch of ingrates get their just desserts. Witness the suffering of others while avoiding your own. You can thank me later. Thanks can be given in the form of a home baked pumpkin pie.
Thanksgiving (2023)
Directed by Eli Roth
Cast: Nell Verlaque, Jalen Thomas Brooks, Milo Manheim, Addison Rae, Patrick Dempsey, Rick Hoffman, Gina Gershon
Runtime: 106 minutes
MPAA Rating: R for strong bloody horror violence and gore, pervasive language and some sexual material.
Rating (out of ****): ***
"Thanksgiving" is available on Hulu with a subscription as well as to rent or buy on all the major streaming platforms. You can also purchase it on DVD, Blu-Ray or 4K Blu-Ray. The trailer for "Thanksgiving" featured in the film "Grindhouse" is available on YouTube.
