Almost every major holiday has a horror movie associated with it — the most obvious examples being Halloween (synonymous with a beloved horror franchise) and Christmas (with how many scary movies set around the winter holidays there are). Yet, there are even a few that may surprise you, like all the romantic thrillers perfect for Valentine’s Day or the other celebratory seasons covered in the fun horror anthology movie, Holidays. However, one that does not get quite as much attention from the horror genre is Thanksgiving, which is why I am looking forward to Eli Roth’s next project.
To be perfectly honest, Thanksgiving will only be the latest flick to put a deadly spin on the otherwise heartwarming holiday, following 1987’s Blood Rage, the campy Thankskilling movies, and the two November-released installments of Blumhouse’s Into the Dark on Hulu, most notably. However, with a filmmaker of Roth’s notoriety involved, a few A-listers in the cast, and years of anticipation built-up already, this is looking to be the definitive thriller for horror-obsessed families to chow down on together each Turkey Day. See for yourself in our breakdown of all there is to know about this upcoming horror movie so far.
What Is The Thanksgiving Release Date?
Just as one might have been able to predict, Thanksgiving has been confirmed to appear on our 2023 movie schedule with a fall theatrical release. Sony Pictures revealed in a post on X that "all will be carved" on Friday, November 17, 2023. According to another X post from Sony, production on the film started cooking on March 17, 2023.
The Slasher Depicts The Deadly Events Following A Tragic Black Friday
If Thanksgiving is successful enough, it could go down in history as one of the best slasher movies of its time, let alone one of the best horror movies to take place on the titular holiday. However, Turkey Day is not the only annual fall tradition the film is taking a stab at.
According to Sony Pictures’ official logline, Thanksgiving takes place in Plymouth, Massachusetts – the site of the holiday’s historical origin – where a psychopath dressed as a pilgrim starts a murder spree in the wake of a tragic Black Friday riot. Even though it would not be the first horror film to deal with the notorious shopping event – Black Friday starring Bruce Campbell released in 2021 – a feature that explores how crazy some people get searching for deals the day after Thanksgiving sounds scary on its own.
Thanksgiving Is Based On A Fake Trailer From Grindhouse
While Thanksgiving was only confirmed to be going into production in January 2023, fans have been waiting to see the movie since they saw the trailer… in 2007. The upcoming slasher is actually a feature-length adaptation of a faux teaser that was made specifically for Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s tribute to B-movie double features, Grindhouse, and shown in between the filmmakers’ respective, full-length segments, Planet Terror and Death Proof. See a taste of how this movie might “scare the stuffing out of you” by checking out the original, over-the-top short on YouTube.
Thanksgiving will, technically, be the third fake Grindhouse trailer to be made into a real movie if you count both 2010’s Machete — which spawned the 2013 sequel, Machete Kills — and 2011’s Hobo with a Shotgun, which is based on a short only shown with Grindhouse in Canada. It was in the same year that Rodriguez’s first Machete movie came out when Roth confirmed a feature-length version of his trailer was in the works. It only took 13 years for it to escape development hell and get fans excited to see blood hit the screen again.
Jalen Thomas Brooks And Nell Verlaque Lead The Thanksgiving Cast
Historically, horror movies have served as a breakthrough for many up-and-coming actors — some of which have gone on to be considered icons of the genre — and Thanksgiving could be yet another example. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film will be led by The CW’s Walker cast member Jalen Thomas Brooks making his feature film debut, and Nell Verlaque, who is best known for the Disney+ original TV show, Big Shot.
The biggest names confirmed to be in the Thanksgiving cast, however, are Emmy-nominated former Grey’s Anatomy cast member Patrick Dempsey (whose last horror movie was the third installment of the Scream franchise in 2000) and TikTok star Addison Rae, who made her acting debut in 2021 with Netflix’s He’s All That. Also set to star — according to Deadline — are Showgirls’ Gina Gershon, comedian Tim Dillon, Suits’ Rick Hoffman (who last worked with Eli Roth on Hostel), and Milo Mannheim (whose last experiences with "horror" are Disney Channel’s Z-O-M-B-I-E-S movies and Paramount+’s School Spirits.
The Teaser Is A Warm Thanksgiving Greeting That Curdles Into Ice Cold Terror
I suppose it is only fair that the feature-length adaptation of a fake movie trailer gets its own new trailer (not to mention one that is more suitable for audiences than the one from Grindhouse). See how the first official teaser for Thanksgiving measures up to the faux trailer that inspired it by checking out the clip below:
The minute-long teaser boasts a very convincing lighthearted tone at first, with much credit to the sweeping score and charming monologue about the holiday’s best qualities by Rick Hoffman’s character, before serving up the scares. There are also plenty of fun references to the original Thanksgiving short, from the turkey mascot suit at the town parade to the cheerleader on the trampoline and, of course, the killer’s obligatory pilgrim outfit.
ELI ROTH IS CO-WRITING AND DIRECTING THANKSGIVING
As established, Grindhouse’s Thanksgiving segment was directed by Eli Roth, who also appears in the trailer as a very convincing looking teenager who loses his head while receiving… well, the same thing. Anyway, the filmmaker behind the Hostel movies is returning to helm the feature-length version, which will be his first horror movie in nearly a decade. In fact, according to Deadline, Roth had to hand off directorial duties for reshoots on his adaptation of the video game Borderlands to Deadpool director Tim Miller in order to get started on Thanksgiving.
Also according to Deadline, Roth penned the new movie with the short’s original co-writer, Jeff Rendell, who is also Roth’s co-producer on the film along with Roger Birnbaum. This will mark Roth’s third collaboration with Rendell, who also appeared in Cabin Fever as a “Fake Shemp” — a term meaning an on-set body double, coined by Evil Dead franchise creator and Three Stooges fan Sam Raimi — and played the killer in Thanksgiving. The pair also shared a Spike TV Scream Award win for Best “Screamplay” with Tarantino, Rodriguez, Edgar Wright, and Rob Zombie for their collective Grindhouse segments.
After Thanksgiving hits theaters in Fall 2023, that will leave only two fake trailers from Grindhouse that have not been made into real movies. Will we see Edgar Wright make his strange slasher, Don’t, a reality and would modern audiences even respond welcomingly to a feature-length adaptation of Rob Zombie’s Werewolf Women of the S.S.? Save room just in case.
