Thanksgiving review: "Eli Roth's slasher is sick, twisted and hugely enjoyable"

Nov. 15, 2023

Blending OTT gore, devilish humor and on-the-nose satire, this is sick, twisted and hugely enjoyable.

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Back in 2007, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse double feature came with multiple fake trailers. BothHobo with a ShotgunandMachetewent on to become full-length movies; and now, belatedly, it’s the turn of Eli Roth (Hostel,Cabin Fever), who’s turned his Thanksgiving spot into a gleefully bloodthirsty slasher, just in time for the holiday season.Set in Plymouth, Massachusetts, it begins on Black Friday at the Right Mart store. When teen Jessica (Nell Verlaque), daughter of the store owner, lets her friends in to get first pick of all the cut-price goodies, a riot ensues, leaving three dead. A year on, the town is still in shock. And then the bodies start piling up, leaving Sheriff Newlon (Patrick Dempsey) with his work cut out and Jess and her chums running for their lives…

Thanksgiving is released in US and UK cinemas on November 17.

For more scares, check out our guides to thebest horror moviesof all time and our list of excitingnew horror movieson the way.

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James Mottram is a freelance film journalist, author of books that dive deep into films like Die Hard and Tenet, and a regular guest on the Total Film podcast. You’ll find his writings on GamesRadar+ and Total Film, and in newspapers and magazines from across the world like The Times, The Independent, The i, Metro, The National, Marie Claire, and MindFood.

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