Thanksgiving is a campy, polished, refreshing slasher gem full of mystery, suspense, self-awareness, smarts, and gruesome kills.
An axe-wielding maniac terrorizes residents of Plymouth, Mass., after a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy. Picking off victims one by one, the seemingly random revenge killings soon become part of a larger, sinister plan.
The pacing is fast, exciting, surprising, and makes your pulse pound in the thrill ride of a slasher and gets right to the chaos. The film returns to the roots of these types of stories, taking its time to set things up and then pushing through a continuous run of trying to solve the mystery of the killer. There are moments of saftey sprinkled throughout the film giving the audience time to get to know the characters before resetting for the next attempt at survival.
The film features decent performances to help bring these characters to life. Patrick Dempsey has a fine delivery of lines and a small town personality to go with them. Dempsey really played the sheriff role well and added that comfort role extraordinarily well. The standout for me was Nell Verlaque. From seeing her on Big Shot to now, she has definitely continued to evolve her portrayal of lead characters.
The killer’s motives for once are actually decently fleshed out and explained, each target adding a piece until the revelation for why is revealed. Meanwhile, our main group are showing their true colors, several becoming prime targets for getting whats coming to them, and others hold a much better role making me root for them to make it out alive. Its nothing complex or unique, but in this genre, having characters you are begging for them not to be killed is a good sign that you have made a film a bit more engaging.
There is always a stigma that is associated when you find humor in a horror film that isn’t like the Scary Movie franchise. This isn’t the sociopathic laughs to death, but rather the silly content and writing that sometimes comes out of this movie. The movie had lines that had me giggling . Insults, boorish behavior, and the puns of the villain themselves were well-timed and held a pun power that made me laugh when it was done right.
Thanksgiving isn’t really a scary movie, but it does have some suspenseful moments where you may find yourself leaning towards the screen wondering if they will survive or not. The movie has a lot more going on than just death, so the movies planned fatalities have a little more to chew on than others.
Overall, Thanksgiving is a love letter to the classic slasher genre with modern-day visuals that capitalize on the gore. While it is highly aggressive and perhaps too gruesome in the direction they took, the film manages to hold the campiness, fun, and cheese factor of the drama that should be quite entertaining. With a cast that helps draw you in, alongside a thrilling and perfect pace, most fans of this series should have fun diving into this story. It’s definitely not the best movie I’ve seen or the most unique but I was pleased with it and enjoyed the twists of a good and engaging slasher.
Thanksgiving is now playing in theaters.
What did you think of the film? Let us know in the comments below.
