‘Thanksgiving’ Review: This Holiday Slasher Goes for Gratuitous, Not Gratitude

John Carver sounds more like the name of a horror movie murderer than the first governor of Plymouth Colony. This observation seems to be the driving force behind the 2023 slasher film “Thanksgiving,” based on the fake “Grindhouse” trailer of the same name and director, Eli Roth. Unsurprisingly, this is not enough to carry a 106-minute movie, and so “Thanksgiving” fills in the gaps with an absurd plot, a collection of high school clichés, and gasp-worthy depictions of the manifold variations of violent human death. “Thanksgiving” is less scary than it is gruesome, and is a good choice for those who found themselves wishing the “Scream” franchise were more graphic.

Fans of the “Grindhouse” trailer, on the other hand, are likely to be disappointed. “Thanksgiving” lacks its source material's campy feel — in fact, it comes dangerously close to taking itself seriously. It’s also decidedly unsexy. The iconic trampoline scene, in which a cheerleader’s acrobatic striptease is interrupted by grotesque violence, made the cut, but he fact that it isn’t by any stretch a spoiler to say so reveals the extent to which it is out of place, and even feels like an afterthought included to remedy a lack of nudity unbecoming of the genre.

The film’s main alteration of the fake trailer, which gives the impression of a random series of seasonal murders, is the introduction of an extremely clear motive: the murderer is out for revenge on the Wright family after a deadly Black Friday at their superstore. The drawback of a horror movie with no ambiguity around its motive is a painful lack of suspense — the most burning question of the film is why Sheriff Eric Newlon (Patrick Dempsey) is nearly the only one with a Massachusetts accent.

The mystery of finding the identity of the killer in “Thanksgiving” doesn’t feel particularly high-stakes, since the list of their intended victims is clear from the start. There’s also no real sense of danger; the movie makes no attempt to disguise when a murder is about to happen, and an utterly unlikable group of victims makes the death scenes disturbing, but emotionally neutral. At times, the killer is more relatable than the supposed protagonists. Screenwriter Jeff Rendell[ takes the titular instruction of Blake Synder’s “Save the Cat!” quite literally, and the murderer’s feeding a freshly deceased victim’s cat is the most selfless action of any character in the film.

The band of painfully stereotypical teens can’t seem to tell whether they’re supposed to be dated, tropey jocks and cheerleaders, or the internet-obsessed wannabe influencers of 2023. Their leader is Jessica (Nell Verlaque), the daughter of the owner of the controversial superstore. Jessica has no discernable personality, but she does have a troubled relationship with her stepmom that lacks even passing relevance to the plot (let alone payoff). She is also at the center of a love triangle that makes “Twilight” look as tragic and poignant as “Anna Karenina.”

Jessica is in some ways a breakthrough role for Verlaque, a relative newcomer to the big screen, but if she has acting chops, they are not on display. She has also been excluded from the marketing: The film purports to star TikTok celebrity Addison Rae, for whom the horror film is a departure from her previous forays into acting — most prominently “Spy Cat” and “He’s All That.” Her top billing is not an exaggeration so much as a blatant lie. The film goes for a best-of-both-worlds approach to drawing in Rae’s fans while mitigating her performance, which is to say, her role as Jessica’s friend Gabby is somewhat lacking in both screen time and complexity.

What “Thanksgiving” lacks in plot, characters, acting, and almost every other facet of filmmaking, it makes up for in extremely gruesome violence. The film is an emblem of an age of truly desensitized audiences, and handles a dearth of original murder concepts through elaborate, multi-step killings that leave absolutely nothing to the imagination. Unable to keep audiences at the edge of their seats, “Thanksgiving” instead leaves them cringing, curled up at the back of their chairs, disgusted rather than scared and unable to look away. The gore is no small part of the fun of slashers, and will probably delight those who are seeing the film for the love of “Grindhouse,” but no amount of gratuitous violence can compensate for a lack of authentic thrills.

“Thanksgiving” is nevertheless an addition to the genre of Turkey Day-horror, and is at least on par with its rivals (see: “Black Friday,” “ThanksKilling”). Even if it tries a little too hard, the shock value is not to be understated. If it’s violence you’re looking for this holiday season, this film is the one to beat.