‘Thanksgiving’ Review: Eli Roth’s Holiday Horror Offers Slim Pickings
From the severely underrated seasonal slasher Cobweb, to effective blockbusters like The Nun 2 , horror fans have been spoiled this past spooky-season. but Eli Roth has one more holiday stop before Chirstmas.
First and foremost, though, holiday horror (in addition to being terribly fun to say) has undoubtedly spawned some of the best work the horror genre has ever seen. Establishing this quasi-genre as important is relevant to both the film at hand and the value of the horror genre as a whole. The bejewelled history of which, most obviously, is situated mostly around Halloween; Halloween ‘78 and Trick r’ Treat immediately come to mind as old and new iterations of this ideal. Eli Roth, being an unashamed fan of all things horror (Halloween, especially), pulled zero punches with his own holi-horror picture, the already infamous Thanksgiving.
Roth has no qualms with admitting his aforementioned inspirations, going as far as to mirror the legendary point-of-view shot from the opening of Halloween in the opening of this film. It doesn’t last too long, nor is it completely on the nose, but those who pick up on it (myself included) will immediately let their guards down; Eli Roth understands the essence of these films.
This is furthered by a bone-chilling title card just a few scenes later. Truly, the opening 20-minutes or so of Thanksgiving promises slasher perfection the whole way through. Unfortunately, it never quite comes close to those heights again.
The film immediately takes a hit after the brilliant opening, slowing down to spend time with characters that never stick; the performances are decent, and there isn’t anything particularly bad about the writing, it’s just the sheer lack of specialty in any regard. This goes for both sides of the coin, too. Neither our eventually revealed villain nor valiant final hero offer much at all in the way of memorability.
If anyone stood out, it’d have to be members of the dizzying array of side characters that exist seemingly just to deliver one-liners and die. Yet, the hammy nature of their presence and scenes makes for more fun than just about anybody else in the film. Unfortunate for the film most of the way through, sure, but awesome when these characters get their moment.
Where the opening and portrayed understanding of the genre are the film’s greatest strengths, this sort of particular emptiness, regardless of the occasional bright spot, is certainly its greatest weakness. Halloween can never be mentioned too many times, and once again, the memorability of that film (and classics like it) are extremely relevant in seeing the disparity in Thanksgiving. Even so, the film manages a great deal of bloody fun.
The slashing sequences are mostly top-tier. They relate to the concept, and holiday, every single time; that is a singular accomplishment worth recognition alone. Roth, tongue planted firmly in cheek, operates exclusively outside the realm of possibility. There’s a certain charm to the absurdity. Some of the best moments here are some of the wildest, most difficult to endure to come out of any film like this in recent memory. One sequence in particular, about halfway through the film, comes to mind involving one of the many side characters and his cat. It’s in the sort of twisted hilarity on display in this scene that Roth really finds his place, and where Thanksgiving thrives most.
Though the existence of such highs only worsens a finale that is comparatively stale and conceptually one-note. When the credits roll, you’ll likely be left with a lousy shrug. After cornering you with often outright disgusting, extreme concepts, the last ten-minutes abandon the prior commitment and feel, at most, PG-13. Not that the film must always push the boundaries, but when you do so throughout and inexplicably drop such tendencies at the story’s climax, the result is an inconsistent feeling and dampened overall effect.
This all goes back to Roth never recovering the momentum he achieved in the opening. Without that beginning, the final verdict on this one likely would’ve been far more sour. He’s unfortunately become known for a lack of consistency across his filmography, with messy hit/miss movies like The House With a Clock in its Walls and Knock Knock. Like Thanksgiving, there is a clear vision on display in those, but it’s muddled by an uneven commitment to differing ideas across the board. Roth is rarely bad, but Thanksgiving is further evidence that something seems to be holding him back.
The blockbuster nature of all three of those films may hint to the root of the problem. There are horror blockbusters that properly utilize the bigger, often broader approach (take the insanely successful and widely appreciated Conjuring films, for example), but Roth seems to have simply not found that balance. Nobody should have to be compared to James Wan, but in a scenario in which the films at hand are directly related, it seems unavoidable. It’s not preferable to dwell on “what-ifs”, but you can’t help but wonder, much like the other two films, what they could’ve been when it’s all said and done. A Halloween-homage holiday horror endeavor certainly sounds appealing in concept, and yet we’re left ultimately with more questions than we began with. Regardless, as an exercise in an arguably waning genre, Thanksgiving certainly deserves respect. Roth’s overarching commitment to replicating the best of the horror legendarium should preserve this one for dedicated fans, and the fleeting moments of high-horror class definitely warrant a first watch for most. It isn’t the worst the genre has seen this year, by any means.
Going forward, all eyes will be on Roth’s next move. Whichever way you spin it critically, Thanksgiving has certainly been a financial success, and a sequel would be no surprise. He’s in the driver's seat, and Thanksgiving is just decent enough to warrant future attention.