User reviews

I'm trying to decide if this was satire or an actual horror.

The acting was pretty bad and the lines were very cheesy but for some reason I couldn't stop watching it. It was like a car wreck , Lol - it's across between. "I know what you did last summer "and "urban legends."

The Boston accents were glitchy and the acting was absolutely terrible.

. It was nice to see a small Ontario towns in this film. I had to close my eyes a few times because of the Gore. I don't think I'll be having turkey for a while. Nice to see Patrick Dempsey in something albeit cheesey . If you want cheese, bad acting and gore - this is for you

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I was quite surprised yet happy to see a thanksgiving horror film getting such high praise. I went in with no expectations and only saw the trailer possibly once. Let me start by saying that this film has quite graphic kills and inventive kills at that. This film starts solid with an extremely dramatic opening and then follows the basic slasher whodunnit outline. I didn't find any of the characters interesting nor do I remember a single person's name so it was kinda hard to stay invested when I don't have a connection to anyone.

After the killer is revealed the movie then rushes to the end. Not sure if the director wanted to keep the run time short or if they just didn't know how to end the film but it literally sprints to the end. If you're looking for a cheesy horror movie and just watching for fun this is for you. I just need a little more substance.

Going into this movie with such low expectations had me blown away. I thought it was gonna be terrible, but it was actually one of the best slasher movies that have come out in recent years. The plot is simple, characters are simple, and the kills are amazing. At the beginning of this movie almost none of the characters are likeable. And to be honest, they don't get likeable until maybe halfway through the film. The acting isn't great either, Patrick Dempsey(the sheriff) was easily the best of the whole cast. There's also so really corny lines and cheesy moments but it's a slasher and they always come with that. The highlight of this entire movie is the way characters are killed off because it's straight up brutal. The movie doesn't shy away from showing blood and guts, and from what we could see only maybe two of the deaths are CGI, the rest looked like practical effects, and there's so much death. From the start of the movie you can just tell it's gonna be a wild ride. The ending was kind of weird and not at all what you expect, I guess kind of setting up a sequel, not really sure actually. But definitely a fun movie to enjoy if you have nothing better to watch.

There were so many opportunities for this movie to go wrong. There is nothing better than a painfully stupid concept well executed to the point that it is actually good. Thanksgiving is the only Thanksgiving slasher movie I can think of. It is really enjoyable and, somewhat, grisly in parts. Eli Roth has a a unique and twisted mind. Roth does a great job in all of his movies tempering his grotesque imagery and thematic content with humor. This is no exception. The cast is good and strong- had it been a no name Director the film would not have attracted so many named stars. Patrick Dempsey is very good. I liked it.

For a horror movie fan like me, I predicted this more than I predicted Scream VI. Quite obvious who it was when the car scene happened. Excepted.

The Black Friday scene was my favorite scene. There was a lot of gore, and the scene maybe even made me giggle a time or two. It was constructed with care, and the deaths were on point, I also enjoyed the killers motive. It made sense and it was a smart point.

I also enjoyed the cat scene. It gives some kind of feeling for the killer that makes you feel sad for him. If you don't understand what I mean, then ignore this.

Overall I would give this a 6.8 out of ten.

I love horror movies, specifically my favorites are stalker/killer/slasher types.

I wasn't sure how Eli Roth would handle this type of movie because he's really more known for his "gore" rather than "run from the killer" style of films. Although I enjoy his dialogue in his former scripts and have good things to say about the hostel series, I was still a little skeptical.

My final verdict is a good one. I liked it. I thought the story was good, it was entertaining, and the killer scenes were pretty well done. I like how he inserted just enough humor to make me laugh, but didn't take it over the top. The jokes were subtle and just right.

The kills were pretty good too... knowing Eli Roth's past resume, I was afraid that he would take the gore too far... but thankfully he didn't.

A pretty satisfying horror holiday outing... I wouldn't mind a sequel now either.

I'm so confused about how this has a decent rating. This movie was painfully boring and predictable. The acting was absolutely atrocious. The story was as bland as it comes. I love cheesy horror movies, but this doesn't even count as one. I can't tell you how many times I have seen all of the 80s slasher flicks. I will binge watch them over and over. But I will never watch this one again. It's just so bad. I can't even laugh at it. Honestly, I'm insulted that anyone would put something out that is so bad. And that people would review it so well. I only went to see this movie based off of the reviews. It seems like people have lost touch with what makes a good movie.

I attended an advance screening of Thanksgiving (2023) this evening. The plot revolves around the infamous town of Plymouth, Massachusetts, grappling with a tragic Black Friday massacre. As the locals gear up to celebrate Thanksgiving a year later, someone decides to deliver festive justice to those responsible.

Directed by Eli Roth (Cabin Fever), the film stars Patrick Dempsey (Grey's Anatomy), Addison Rae (He's All That), Gina Gershon (Killer Joe), Nell Verlaque (The Marijuana Conspiracy), and Rick Hoffman (Ballers).

The movie is truly remarkable. I found myself smiling from the opening scene to the closing credits. It captures a 90s slasher vibe with a plethora of characters who could be the killer, a high school class facing peril, and a relatable motive for the antagonist. The kill scenes are all top-notch, earning a solid 10/10, with a perfect blend of creativity, gore, blood splatter, and more gore. The Black Friday and parade sequences are standout moments, eliciting cheers from tonight's audience. Noteworthy are the elite decapitation scenes and a sequence reminiscent of Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight. For a modern-day slasher, it doesn't get much more enjoyable than this. I'd give this an 8/10 and highly recommend it.

IMDB should add comedy to this movie's genres because it's much funnier than it is scary or thrilling. All the kills (with the exception of perhaps one) are strongly telegraphed by the camerawork and sound design. Who the killer would end up being was quite obvious to me about halfway through, but the mystery isn't really the point of this movie. You all know that the reason to see this movie is for the gory kills, and Eli Roth certainly delivers on that point even if the rest of the movie felt pretty textbook. Grab your family and friends to go see this for a fun dessert right after your Thanksgiving dinner!

Honestly this movie is one of those either you love it or you hate it type of movies. It's a modern day slasher that's nostalgic, campy, gory, and fast-paced. If you're a fan of gore and over the top death scenes then you'll likely enjoy this movie. I'm a big fan of the Chucky movies (especially the later ones) as well as the more recent series and that's kind of the vibe this movie gives off when it comes to tone for me. I laughed a lot while watching this movie and cringed at just about all of the deaths. It's also very reminiscent of I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream. If you enjoy any of the movies I've mentioned and you need something to do and you're not a horror snob, you'll likely have fun with this one! :)

The story was interesting with a logical villain, but it wants to have it both ways, being either a scary slasher movie and a disgusting, forced horror movie. Some of the dialog was funny, but the violence was frustrating. I couldn't tell if some of the deaths were intended to scare me or just gross me out. It seems Eli Roth intended horror, laughs and senseless deaths. I'm split on the movie because there were entertaining scenes and forced scenes and the characters were so laid back as victims. They didn't seem as scared as they should. Didn't see any of his movies before; aside from the fake Grindhouse trailer of Thanksgiving.

I had fun with this one. Absolutely no expectations going in. If you like Eli Roth, I think this is him on a pretty damn good day.

To me, the biggest flaws were that it felt rushed. Like the scenes with the most fun gore were not polished and the crowd work in the beginning was overall just poor. Also, way too many characters (poorly cast as well). My god, I had no idea what any of them were named. So forgettable. The whole thing was relatively forgettable, if I'm being honest.

But who cares! Not every movie has to leave a deeper impact. Something can just be plain entertaining. And this was that. Leave your expectations at the door and enjoy Mr. Roth's special sauce.

Eli Roth's "Thanksgiving" is based on a mock trailer from 2007's "Grindhouse"*. As Roth loves to show some of the most grotesque things imaginable, this movie gives us the goods. It's got some of the most shocking kills that I've ever witnessed onscreen.

As it happens, I had just learned of John Carver a few days before seeing this, having watched the 1952 movie "Plymouth Adventure", about the Pilgrims' journey across the ocean (as you may have suspected, it was one of the most inaccurate movies ever). Imagine how shocked the Pilgrims - all of them religious fundamentalists - would've been to learn that one of their leaders would get used like this.

All in all, a truly fun movie. A nice counterweight to the overly wholesome things people do for the holiday. In other words, I'm thankful that this movie got made.

*Roth, a friend of Quentin Tarantino, filmed the mock trailer as a favor to him. Tarantino later cast Roth in "Inglourious Basterds" as the Bear Jew, who enjoys bashing in Nazis' heads.

Though it's very formulaic, this film, it's still at the better end of recent gore-fests. We start off with the most unlikely of scenarios - a Thanksgiving sale at a supermarket that goes spectacularly and violently wrong. The population of the founding father's very own Plymouth in Massachusetts become frenetic and determined to do whatever it takes to get into this store and get their free waffle iron! Anyway, a group of kids manage to sneak in first and provoke the waiting crowd - that leads to a stampede with tragic results. Scoot on twelve months and the same store is proposing to have anther such sale, despite the fatalities last time round that led to no prosecutions thanks to some security camera "errors". Sheriff "Eric" (Patrick Dempsey) is concerned for public safety but that's just the start of his woes. When the rather odious and foul mouthed waitress "Lizzie" (Amanda Barker) is found - well half of her is found - stuck to the store's illuminated signage, he must find the culprit before there are even more revenge attacks by the masked pilgrim... Yes, we've seen this all before but here Eli Roth takes a cast that might have been graduates from Ben Platt's "Theater Camp" (2023) and turns them into prey for a menacing killer who certainly has some imagination when reeking his havoc on those who did him wrong. It takes a swipe at the commercial culture around this American holiday - rather well presented via Rick Hoffman's store-owning "Thomas", father or our lead "Jessica" (Nell Verlaque) and husband to the really rather shallow "Kathleen" (Karen Cliche). There's a bit of boyfriend rivalry that accidentally displays the versatility (?!) of Milo Manheim who quite successfully ditches his butter wouldn't melt image (anyone seen "Journey to Bethlehem"?) before a suitably far-fetched denouement that does take it's time, repeats itself a bit and concludes screaming sequel. There are some some funny moments, the cast largely gel well and though not exactly scary, there are a few effective jumps. I doubt that you'll recall it for long after, but I think this is actually quite good.

We actually got it. It took a long time but we finally got a 'Thanksgiving' movie based on the infamous 'Grindhouse' trailer from 2007. I always liked to imagine what this film would actually look like. In all of the ways I envisioned it though, I never foresaw it being as coherent and well put together as this film ultimately was. This movie was a blast.

The first thing to note is that the film is absolutely brutal. They haven't toned things down from the original trailer at all. They have committed to the concept and the film is that much better off for it. Like most Eli Roth films it feels like nothing is off limits.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the film was done in a whodunit style. The mystery, and not knowing what characters could and could not be trusted, added another layer to the film and worked really well.

When we first meet the characters, and in particular the teenage characters, I was a little worried they were going to be extremely unlikable, as is usually the case in these types of films. As the film went on though most, if not all, of them grew on me. And by the end of the film I actually cared about their fate.

'Thanksgiving' is going to go down as one of my most pleasant surprises of 2023 for me. It was everything I wanted and more. 9/10.

What's not to like and love about Black Friday, a time when you can let your cares go astray, a time to binge on want and waste, as if your soul has been debased, pushing, punching, thrusting, shoving is great play. That is until a year has passed and in walks John, then incidents take place and folk are gone, mutilation may come first, he has a terrible blood thirst, if this was a competition, he's champion. Although it's strange as people die town life goes on, he could slay a dozen more no sense of wrong, little panic on the streets, there seems to be a subtle peace, because the Plymouth folk, just won't be put upon.

I'm a little stunned by the positivity of the reviews I've seen. Thanksgiving has some good surrounded by mostly bad. I'll start with the few positives. It's mostly well-made from a technical perspective. I loved the scenes of carnage and chaos. And all of the kills made my jaw drop. It doesn't hold back.

Everything outside of the kill scenes is bad. I wish they leaned more into the dark fun slasher vibes. Instead they try to be serious, which magnifies how bad, bland and dumb the rest of the movie is. And while the mystery is intriguing and unpredictable, the reveal isn't even a tiny bit satisfying.

This will probably be more enjoyable if you haven't seen many movies. (1 viewing, 12/19/2023)

Eli Roth is a genius! This is some of Roth's best work. The social commentary on Black Friday was well played and Thanksgiving has some of the best gory kills I ever seen. I was bursting out of my seat watching some people get killed and other deaths I felt bad for even though they were not great people. It's just that no one deserved to die the way Roth had some of these folks taken out.

Plus it was witty. Thanksgiving took some stabs (pun intended) at itself and it was funny.

Defiantly a worth wild horror flick. Felt like I been waiting 16 years for it sense that trailer in Grindhouse and it did not disappoint.

THANKSGIVING (2023) **1/2 Patrick Dempsey, Neli Verlaque, Rick Hoffman, Milo Manheim, Addison Rae, Karen Cliche, Shailyn Griffin, Jenna Warren, Mika Amonsen, Gabriel Davenport, Joe Delfin, Gina Gershon. Patient horror fans have waited 16 yrs from its GRINDHOUSE teaser 'trailer' and Eli Roth FINALLY delivers its holiday centered slasher flick with dank élan and plenty of second helpings of gore with the vengeance seeking John Carver masked killer a year after a Black Friday melee resulted with deadly results. While the characters are cookie cutter ass-hats, douchebags and cowards the stalking and menacing echoes Craven, Carpenter and yes, even DePalma in each dispatching. If you put SCREAM, HALLOWEEN and even, FINAL DESTINATION into a CuisinArt and hit puree you'd get this by-the-numbers, all-the-tropes genre flick served on a silver platter (and if they do the inevitable sequel I suggest the tagline of "And This Time We DIDN'T Forget the Gravy!")

Im so confused as to how there are so many positive reviews on here 😭 this movie was so bad it was laughable (and not in a good way). The acting sucked, the plot was boring, the scares weren't even scary, and the reveal of the killer was so lackluster. I couldn't tell if the movie was trying to be funny or be serious, but either way it just did not work. Also, Hollywood, please stop caring tik tok stars in movies. There are hundreds of talented people out in the world who are waiting for their big break in films, and you're giving movie roles to people who aren't even actors. *cough cough* Addison Rae *cough cough*

The original trailer was very raw, this film was polished like Scream 6, and its the same production company, but it was still very fun! If you're an older person, just IGNORE the loud rap song that is played 5 minutes into the film...that is a popular rap song and it is for the Teenage crowd fan service...now back to my review! The killer's mask was pretty weak, but the kills were fun and sneaky! The opening was so damn good. I liked this film better than Saw X and Five Nights at freddys...My theater was moaning and laughing at the right parts. When someone got beheaded, the entire theater erupted with "OOOOOOhhhh" And that made me a bit uncomfy, lol...Also, if you like Hobo With A Shotgun, it's not as nasty or vile as that film, but it is technically better than The Hobo with a Shotgun film we got in 2011! Also, Thanksgiving 2023 is not exactly like the grindhouse trailer...But it is fresh and I'm just glad we finally got the full length film! So if you want a new slasher, you should definitely watch this, it had my poor mom jumping and frightened...Also, Some people started arguing and ruined the film for us. Lol they even started cussing...oh well I'll wait for it to go to streaming to refresh my memory. Overall as a Hollywood Cinematic Standard? Its a 6.5/10 ...as a Horror Slasher? A high 8.9/10 SCORE.

I was so hesitant to warch it, that's why I went for it on its third day of release, otherwise I would been the first in line on its premiere. And to be honest, It was just a torture watching Hostel and Cabin Fever. But surprisingly it's one of the best horror movies of 2023 and the best of Eli Roth so far. Damn, it was unbelievably good. Not pretentious at all, very simple premise, somehow a stereotype but so original in its own way. Solid script, great actings from some newcomers, magnificent shots and a surprisingly great direction of Eli Roth. To me, it's a new beginning for Eli and a requiem for movies like Scream!

A totally fresh breath to slasher genre!