Thanksgiving (2007)
One of the best parts of the 2007 Grindhouse double feature was the fake movie previews that introduced fans of the movie to Machete, Hobo With a Shotgun, and a turkey day slasher titled Thanksgiving. While these previews were not meant to showcase genuine films, they have all been produced and have become cult classics in their own right. Thanksgiving is a movie that slasher fans have waited 15 years to see, and thanks to Eli Roth, we finally see this film. In the small town of Plymouth, Massachusetts, a tragic event during a Black Friday sale has cast a dark shadow on the community and the victim's families. A business owner decides to hold the annual parade and store sale to help move on, but a number of the townfolk turn up dead at the hands of a mysterious figure dressed as a Pilgrim nicknamed The Carver. While the Grindhouse preview showed a bloody spectacle, this film is a black comedy, following the successful formula of the recent Scream movies. The cast includes Patrick Dempsey, newcomer Nell Verlaque, and Karen Cliche, as well as minor roles for Gina Gershon and Lynne Griffin. Thanksgiving does not reinvent the wheel or change the field; it follows a style many other 80s slashers used successfully. Still, thanks to Eli Roth's direction, we have a fun holiday horror movie that finally adds another great film to the Grindhouse collection and introduces The Carver as a promising new slasher for this generation.
