We’ve all seen movies that have tried to incorporate the title of the work into the dialogue itself, a tried and true tradition with many strikeouts but also plenty of hits.
“We’re going back to the future!”
“Welcome to Jurassic Park…”
And how could we possibly omit: “Forget it, Jake, it’s Pootie Tang!”
But I’ve yet to see a film trip over itself to jam the movie poster tagline into a character’s mouth. But that streak ends with Thanksgiving, as one spoilerific character belts out: “THERE’LL BE NO LEFTOVERS!” Because meta. You can almost hear the gears turning, as this line is clearly the intended crescendo to the movie’s desire to be inducted into the “sleazy B movie that knows it’s a sleazy B movie” Hall of Fame.
As a moment, though, it doesn’t entirely work, as we find the lack of originality in the line to elicit eye rolls as opposed to laughter for the intended wit. It’s also an addition that is entirely unnecessary, as Thanksgiving already has the goods on display to establish itself as enjoyable junk food; yes, even if you aren’t the biggest Eli Roth fan. We knew when this very movie was previewed that Roth was preparing a feast that would rank among the goriest of his career. In that vein, Thanksgiving doesn’t disappoint – it is a vicious, irreverent, nasty movie that has just enough helpings of comedy to counterbalance just how mean it is. But I use ‘mean’ as a compliment, an element that the movie uses as a full-on mood, and within that mood, Thanksgiving proves to be damn near misanthropic.
This tale centers on an uncomfortably small community in Plymouth, Massachusetts – and the Mass-holes are in full force. An extended prolong showcases the events of a brutal Black Friday sale that will put your best “Fight at a Kmart/Target/Walmart” videos to shame. We fast forward to a year later, where the mishaps of the previous Thanksgiving still leave an ominous cloud over the town. Caught in the middle of the chaos is Jessica (Nell Verlaque), as the perturbed daughter of the city’s most hated entrepreneur – RightMart CEO Thomas Wright (Rick Hoffman). The community feels Wright is liable for the previous year’s tragedy, turning Jessica’s family into local pariahs. Her romantic life is also going through hell, as she deals with the fallout from the mysterious disappearance of her boyfriend. Just as Thanksgiving comes around again, giving Plymouth its first opportunity to move on, a mad killer springs into action, potentially looking to avenge the sins of the past – in grisly fashion.
This feels so much like an 80s slasher, at least in terms of setup: the carelessness of a community coming back to haunt them in the form of a vengeful murderer. The film is an adaptation of this popular “fake” trailer from 2007’s Grindhouse:
To which, the filmmakers have repurposed this adaptation as something of a “reboot” of the mythical, fictional 80s slasher from the original trailer. Going into the flick with that mindset, the movie delivers well on its premise.
We’ll get back to whether or not the mystery itself is fully optimized, but where Thanksgiving is most successful is in its kills and the film’s scornful depiction of its residents. “Torture porn” is a controversial subject, but excessive violence must ride a fine line between thrilling/entertaining or ‘boring’ because you become desensitized to the violence. Thanksgiving avoids that desensitization by picking its spots wisely and making its gorier moments count. Perhaps the film’s most unnerving sequence occurs when a very unwanted dinner item is added to the Thanksgiving table.
The characters here are just nasty to each other; at school, at dinner, at the local diner, not even the checkout line is safe. This doesn’t seem to be a particularly poor community, yet everyone seems ready to commit homicide over basic household items like waffle makers and vacuum cleaners. Roth is clearly having fun with the idea that Americans are not as nice as the festive marketing of their holidays attempt to make the country seem, deliberately taking this theme to exaggerated levels.
But Roth does so without attempting to get political or topical in regards to current events. If this movie ends up having legs as a franchise, I think there’s more you could do with this idea in the future – taking a cue from The Purge movies to interrogate America’s psyche on a deeper level. But for the movie we have in front of us, it really aims to be a Massachusetts movie (Roth was born in the state) in spirit. Although, I do find it amusing that all the adults in the film seem as if they could authentically be residents of the state, while all the high school aged characters seem like they’re from California with CAA representation.
Where the movie falters is the killer’s reasoning is a little weak, capitalizing on a subplot that comes completely out of nowhere. In a way, the reveal does follow up on the theme that the city’s residents are just awful people, with the killer(s) themselves showing their own selfishness, but what they’re seeking revenge upon is just not that captivating due to a lack of character development. Nonetheless, Thanksgiving is still probably one of the more enjoyable slasher movies of the past couple of years, combining great practical effects, bloody violence, and absurdist CGI gags (including one involving a dumpster). It’s not to be taken terribly seriously, and I’d be lying if I said the movie was filled with the amount of tension that is required of the great slasher flicks. But it’s breezy, simple, features easily identifiable archetypes in a familiar stew of knife-wieding comfort food.
The cast won’t be winning any Oscars, maybe not even an MTV Movie Award, but they’re serviceable enough as ridiculous caricatures to get the film’s shallow themes across. However, I do wish we had more Rick Hoffman in this movie, who doesn’t get nearly enough screentime. He’s an underrated character actor who seems tailor-made for the morally questionable rich guy he plays here, and many viewers will either find his face hilarious or extremely punchable – or both. Give us more Rick Hoffman! Magic happens whenever he’s on screen. Overall, though, while Thanksgiving isn’t quite a full course meal, it is a fun treat worth digging into.
