Movie Review: Thanksgiving

Director Eli Roth is one of the few directors along with Wes Craven and George A. Romero who only seems to be interested in making horror movies. Roth directed and co-wrote the new movie “Thanksgiving” that is unusual in that nobody would necessarily know this is a horror movie based on the title. I would wonder how many people walk into the theater expecting a family film with their kids. The beginning of the film also provides an improbable reason for the insane murderer who follows (a Black Friday rush on a department store), that I thought was a good new idea for a horror movie.

This movie is nothing we have not seen before in other similar horror movies. Some insane person who is wearing a mask (in this case a Pildgrim mask), goes around killing people in some horrific ways, one of the worst was the scene where the woman was put into an oven, still alive. Enough over-the-top gore already. In my opinion, there is no reason to be this cruel in any horror movie. What is the point?

There are chase scenes, new ways to kill people I have not seen before, and in the end, a trick ending that almost works and then a ridiculous promise for possible sequels that based on the ending, does not hold water.

The three known actors in this film are Patrick Dempsey, Gina Gershon and one of the stars of the great series “Suits”, Rick Hoffman, who played lawyer Louis Litt.

The Rotten Tomatoes ratings for this horror film are way too high 82%, with my rating 70% and a recommendation mostly for fans of Eli Roth.