Thanksgiving

Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving is exactly what you’d expect from the director of Hostel; gory, outrageous, and packed with shocking kills. It’s a fun and bloody holiday slasher that’s entertaining enough if you enjoy Roth’s over-the-top style. The premise of a Thanksgiving-themed horror movie is a great idea, and the film delivers on some of that promise with creative kills and moments of real tension. However, the movie doesn’t fully capitalize on its potential. For a concept like this, there was so much room to explore the holiday theme in clever and twisted ways, but it only skims the surface. Add to that a script that feels a bit weak and acting that’s hit or miss, and the movie doesn’t quite hit the heights it could have. While the gore and spectacle are solid, the lack of deeper characters and smarter writing makes it feel more like a fun distraction than something truly memorable. Still, I enjoyed it overall. It’s thrilling in parts, messy in others, but it delivers enough chaos and bloodshed to make for a good time. If you like slasher films with campy vibes, Thanksgiving is worth a watch—just don’t expect a feast.

Fun yet formulaic entry into the thanksgiving horror genre. Some funny & gory kills and really slimy dumb characters make the first 2/3rds of movie quite enjoyable, however in the 3rd act there is a switch in the mood and tone from fun satire to self-serious & sadistic horror which makes for a boring finale. Despite it's flaws, Eli Roth's Thanksgiving has franchise potential and that's something to be thankful for.

Thanksgiving follows the "by-the-numbers" horror formula. There is little that's new on offer here and its at times. downright gratuitous, where a little originality, would have paid, better dividends. That's not to say its not watchable. On a very superficial level, it is. Acting is solid and the well paced scares, are effective. Yet, the sad fact remains, this is yet another unremarkable entry in a sea of unoriginal titles and that, in and of itself, leaves little "wiggle room", to recommend this one, over countless others.