Thanksgiving's Eli Roth on how his fake Tarantino trailer became a 2023 'reboot'
Oct. 10, 2023Exclusive: Eli Roth’s new slasher is based on a fake trailer he made back in 2007, but in his mind, it’s a reboot of a banned flick from the 1980s
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There’s no denying that we’re living in the era of reboots and legacy sequels when it comes to the movie industry, particularly when it comes to horror. Just this year, we’ve seen the release ofSaw X, which centers Tobin Bell’s John Kramer, and TheExorcist: Believer, a spiritual continuation of William Friedkin’s 1973 original.
It’s no surprise, then, that Eli Roth used the trend as a way in to Thanksgiving – even though it technically doesn’t have a feature-length predecessor. Instead, the blood-soaked new slasher takes inspiration from a fake trailer he made back in the mid 2000s, which was attached to Quentin Tarantino’s Planet Terror-Death Proof double bill, often jointly titled ‘Grindhouse’.
“It’s just so nuts and so fun and goes so far into the boundaries of bad taste. How do you extend that for 90 minutes, and still make a real movie?” he explains toTotal Film magazinein the new issue, which hits newsstands on Thursday, October 12 and features Ridley Scott on the cover.
Starring Gina Gershon, Addison Rae, Milo Manheim, and Grey’s Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey, Thanksgiving sees a Massachusetts town terrorized by a masked killer dubbed “John Carver”, who you can get a good look at in our exclusive image above, after a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy. The murderer’s mission? To make a festive feast out of his victims.
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Thanksgiving opens in cinemas on November 17. While we wait, for more from our chat with Roth, check out the new issue of Total Film when it hits shelves and digital newsstands on Thursday, October 12. Check out the covers below:
Jamie Graham is the Editor-at-Large of Total Film magazine. You’ll likely find them around these parts reviewing the biggest films on the planet and speaking to some of the biggest stars in the business – that’s just what Jamie does. Jamie has also written for outlets like SFX and the Sunday Times Culture, and appeared on podcasts exploring the wondrous worlds of occult and horror.
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