8 Delicious Thanksgiving Horror Movies And How To Watch Them

Eli Roth's Thanksgiving movie.
(Image credit: Sony Pictures)

While Halloween may be the biggest holiday of the year for fans of the horror genre, there are more Thanksgiving horror movies available than you may even realize. That sort of appetizing fact is probably quite satisfying to audiences not quite ready to hunker down for Christmas horror movies but are hungry for some grim and gory (and even goofy) thrillers and chillers that lovingly acknowledge the November festivities.

So, fetch your pilgrim’s hat and buckles and feast on the following features that take place around the Thanksgiving season. Also, be sure to poke– er, keep an eye out for more holiday fun in our upcoming horror movies schedule.

John Carver with pitchfork in Thanksgiving

(Image credit: Sony)

Thanksgiving (2023)

Director: Eli Roth

Starring: Nell Verlaque, Patrick Dempsey

What it’s about: A year after a Black Friday tragedy, citizens of Plymouth, Massachusetts, fall prey to a vengeful killer dressed as John Carver.

Why it is a delicious Thanksgiving horror movie: Based on a fake trailer he helmed for 2007’s Grindhouse, Eli Roth makes, arguably, his best movie and perhaps the best horror film set around Turkey Day with the inventively brutal Thanksgiving.

How to watch Thanksgiving

Bruce Campbell as Jonathan with a zombie behind his back in Black Friday

(Image credit: Screen Media)

Black Friday (2021)

Director: Casey Tebo

Starring: Devon Sawa, Ivana Baquero, Michael Jai White, Bruce Campbell

What it’s about: A group of toy store employees must fight for their lives when an otherworldly parasite turns their customers into vicious monsters on the biggest shopping night of the year.

Why it is a delicious Thanksgiving horror movie: Taking place on the night of Thanksgiving when holiday shopping hits its craziest peak, Black Friday is a horror-comedy movie that takes things in a crazier direction with some uproarious zombie action.

How to watch Black Friday

Diana Silvers looking concerned in Into the Dark's Flesh & Blood

(Image credit: Blumhouse / Hulu)

Flesh & Blood (2018)

Director: Patrick Lussier

Starring: Dermot Mulroney, Diana Silvers

What it’s about: On the eve of the first Thanksgiving without her mother, an agoraphobic teen makes a startling discovery that suddenly makes her feel unsafe in her own home.

Why it is a delicious Thanksgiving horror movie: The second installment of Into the Dark — Hulu and Blumhouse’s monthly holiday-specific horror anthology series of feature-length thrillers — is Flesh & Blood, which hyperbolizes the reluctance some may feel to gather with family for Thanksgiving to a deadly degree.

How to watch Flesh & Blood

The villain from Into the Dark's Pilgrim laughing maniacally

(Image credit: Blumhouse / Hulu)

Pilgrim (2019)

Director: Marcus Dunstan

Starring: Reign Edwards, Kerr Smith

What it’s about: A bickering family hires a group of first Thanksgiving reenactors to help plan their holiday meal but grows weary of them when prove to be unnervingly dedicated to their roles.

Why it is a delicious Thanksgiving horror movie: The second Thanksgiving-inspired installment of Into the Dark, Pilgrim, might actually help you better appreciate the time you have with your family after witnessing its savage twists and turns that might call to mind the Saw movies.

How to watch Pilgrim

The disastrous Thanksgiving gathering in Derelicts

(Image credit: Batchain Productions)

Derelicts (2017)

Director: Brett Glassberg

Starring: Kelly Dealyn, David Lee Hes

What it’s about: A dysfunctional, suburban family’s already awkward Thanksgiving Day gathering is made worse by the sudden arrival of a group of sadistic drifters.

Why it is a delicious Thanksgiving horror movie: One of the most ridiculous home invasion thrillers of all time, Derelicts has enough moments of macabre insanity to make for an amusing watch this season.

How to watch Derelicts

The killer turkey from ThanksKilling bearing a menacing grint

(Image credit: Gravitas Ventures)

ThanksKilling (2008)

Director: Jordan Downey

Starring: Wanda Lust, Natasha Cordova

What it’s about: A group of college students fall prey to a murderous turkey during Thanksgiving break.

Why it is a delicious Thanksgiving horror movie: For those who like their slasher movies as campy as can be, you might get a kick out of watching the Turkey Day feast’s main course get its revenge in ThanksKilling.

How to watch ThanksKilling

Mark Soper as Terry wiping blood from his machete in Blood Rage

(Image credit: Film Concept Group)

Blood Rage (1987)

Director: John Grissmer

Starring: Mark Soper, Louise Lasser

What it’s about: A 20-year-old wrongfully convicted of murder a decade earlier escapes from a mental institution, triggering a rampage by the real killer: his twin brother.

Why it is a delicious Thanksgiving horror movie: A horror movie set around Thanksgiving that involves the feeling you get when that one family member arrives is the beloved ‘80s slasher movie, Blood Rage.

How to watch Blood Rage

Tricia Harmon transforming in Grandma Werewolf

(Image credit: Riverside Studios)

Grandma Werewolf (2017)

Director: Zachary Will

Starring: James Wosochlo, Tricia Harmon, Trevor Brooks, America Ramos

What it’s about: While gathering for Thanksgiving at their grandmother’s cabin, a family discovers that their matriarch has undergone a horrifying transformation.

Why it is a delicious Thanksgiving horror movie: Easily one of the most ridiculous werewolf movies ever made, Grandma Werewolf has a funny enough premise and endearing family themes to make it worth taking a bite out of.

How to watch Grandma Werewolf

Christina Ricci as Wednesday playing Pocahontas in Addams Family Values

(Image credit: Paramount)

BONUS: Addams Family Values (1993)

Director: Barry Sonnenfeld

Starring: Raul Julia, Anjelica Huston, Christopher Lloyd, Joan Cusack

What it’s about: Following the arrival of their newborn son, Gomez and Morticia hire a nanny who captures the heart of Fester but the family suspects she has some ill intentions for him.

Why it is a delicious Thanksgiving horror movie: One of the most memorable scenes from Addams Family Values — the creepy and kooky sequel to 1991’s feature adaptation of Charles Addams’ comic strip and one of the best Addams Family movies yet — sees Christina Ricci’s Wednesday participate in a play recreating the events of the first Thanksgiving as Pocahontas during she and Pugsley’s (Jimmy Workman) stay at Camp Chippewa.

How to watch Addams Family Values

Whether you are in the mood for a slasher, a zombie movie, a creature feature, or even a not-so-scary movie for younger viewers to enjoy when Thanksgiving comes, there are plenty of worthy thrillers that horror fans can be thankful for.

Jason Wiese
Content Writer

Jason Wiese writes feature stories for CinemaBlend. His occupation results from years dreaming of a filmmaking career, settling on a "professional film fan" career, studying journalism at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO (where he served as Culture Editor for its student-run print and online publications), and a brief stint of reviewing movies for fun. He would later continue that side-hustle of film criticism on TikTok (@wiesewisdom), where he posts videos on a semi-weekly basis. Look for his name in almost any article about Batman.