By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
As an ‘80s kid and horror fiend, I have a particular fondness for slasher films, the genre popularized by gory icons like Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger. This genre reached its apex with the release of Wes Craven’s Scream in 1996, and fans like me have been chasing the dragon ever since in hopes that another director might be able to deliver a similar mix of humor, horror, and hemoglobin. Now, the most unexpected director did just that, and fans hoping to experience the best slasher since Scream can now stream Thanksgiving on Netflix.
Thanksgiving On Netflix
When you watch Thanksgiving on Netflix, you’ll discover a truly bonkers tale about a turkey-loving town still reeling from a Black Friday shopping stampede that left three people dead. When the same big brand store prepares to hold a similar sale the following year, karma comes in the form of a killer wearing a truly creepy mask fashioned after John Carver’s, Plymouth Colony’s first governor. As the kills get even uglier than your drunk uncle talking politics, a group of teens who survived the original stampede try to stay one step ahead of a killer whose revenge is one dish never served cold.
If you’ve simply flipped by Thanksgiving while scrolling through Netflix, you might not realize how impressively eclectic this film’s cast is. By far the biggest name is Patrick Dempsey (best known for his performance on Grey’s Anatomy), who plays a sheriff trying to save the town from the most vicious threat it has ever faced. Rounding out the cast are some screen veterans like Gina Gershon (best known for her performance in Bound) and Rick Hoffman (best known for his performance in Samantha Who?) as well as relative newcomers like Addison Rae (best known as a popular influencer on social media platforms such as TikTok).
Aside from Dempsey, the other big name involved in this production is director Eli Roth, a horror veteran known for gorefests like Hostel. Compared to that franchise, the kills in Thanksgiving are usually tamer, which makes this film a bit more accessible for the average Netflix viewer. But Roth still knows how to crank the movie’s fear to its maximum setting, as evidenced by a scene involving an oven sure to leave you cringing into your couch cushion while you watch.
A Hearty Horror Meal
Fortunately, audiences didn’t cringe at Roth’s efforts: well before Thanksgiving ended up on Netflix, it earned $46.6 million against a budget of $15 million. This was enough of a holiday box office to warrant a sequel, and Roth claims that Thanksgiving 2 will be released later this year. Not bad for a bonkers franchise that began with a joke trailer Roth cut for the Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino horror classic Grindhouse.
Amazingly enough, Thanksgiving managed to impress the critics, which is relatively rare when it comes to a slasher. On Rotten Tomatoes, this thick slice of turkey-inspired terror has an 84 percent critical rating. Generally speaking, critics praised the film for its unique blend of humor and horror and how it combined creative kills with scenes and dialogue sure to leave you laughing.
When I finally watched Thanksgiving on Netflix, I was surprised to discover that the critics weren’t exaggerating…this may be the best slasher since Scream, which is good because scene after scene is spent biting Wes Craven’s style. Fortunately, Eli Roth manages to blend Scream-like sensibility with his own trademark brand of humor and gory violence. On top of its quality as a horror movie, Thanksgiving is arguably Roth at his best: the movie softens the excess of his Hostel films while also sharpening the broad humor evidenced by his debut film Cabin Fever, making it a crowdpleaser infinitely more accessible than, say, The Green Inferno.
THANKSGIVING REVIEW SCORE
Will you find Thanksgiving the kind of movie that makes you go back for seconds, or will you think this Netflix slasher needs more time in the oven? You won’t know until you check it out for yourself on Netflix. Just be warned: when Eli Roth cooks up a new film, he uses a lot of cranberry sauce.
