Eli Roth burst onto the horror scene with his debut film, Cabin Fever. The no holds barred romp in the woods was a refreshing return to old school horror. Hostel, Roth’s second feature, grossed out audiences while grossing over eighty million on a modest five-million-dollar budget, making the talented terror director a major player in Hollywood. Over nearly two decades, Roth has directed, acted, and produced critically and financially successful productions. In 2007, Roth wrote and directed a faux trailer for the Tarantino/Rodriquez double feature, Grindhouse. The trailer, Thanksgiving, had a gritty look and was loaded with sensational set pieces, thus causing horror hounds to salivate for a full-length feature. This fall the wait has ended as the talented director attempts to bring the Horror Nation a new franchise icon to carve up fresh meat. With superstar Patrick Dempsey leading the cast and a healthy budget, this eagerly anticipated film has high expectations.
One year after a tragedy struck the historic town of Plymouth, Massachusetts, a group of teens along with several local prominent figures are still recovering. From victims’ families to guilt stricken survivors, the usually festive holiday-mad citizens have become angry anxiety filled town folks. At the epicenter of this sad saga is Jessica (Nell Verlaque,) the daughter of the town’s wealthy business owner who is consistently blamed for the tragedy. Shortly after the death of a local that survived the horror of a year ago, Jessica and her group of friends start receiving cryptic messages. When more bodies start to pile up along with more direct threats, those tied to the bloody incident quickly realize that a pilgrim with an ax to grind is out for revenge.
The tagline of this film is, There will be no leftovers. Hopefully, there will be no sequels either. Albeit fun at times, Thanksgiving is a confusing mess of a slasher that never knows which turn to take. No one was expecting the kind of outrageous shots that gave the iconic trailer cult status, but Roth clearly had a tight leash while cultivating his kills. The sinister set pieces bounce around from good old fashion 80’s gore to 90’s bubble gum boredom. While there are a few tension filled scenes that showcase the talents of the director, they come entirely too far in between the jumbled plot.
It was always going to be a task to write a script that would not only be believable but able to live up to the hype. Roth, along with co-writer Jeff Rendell, present a story that is overindulgent at every turn. What makes iconic horror franchises loved during their original films is the mystery surrounding a killer. These scribes go out of their way to point out every single detail of what is going on, at times it is as if the audience is watching an extra feature commentary with the team behind the production pointing out every twist and turn.
Horror fans never expect or desire academy award winning performances in their films, but this cast puts in one of the worst shifts in recent memory. The younger group of the cast consistently appears to look off screen, as if reading cue cards. Addison Rae was brought in with the hope of bringing her gargantuan social media following to theaters and it shows. At each take, Rae prances around the screen with the kind of timing that is unacceptable for a YouTube short. Nell Verlaque stumbles as she attempts to carry the film as a final girl. Verlaque has the emotional range of an undercooked turkey, bland and tasteless. Even the usually energetic Rick Hoffmann appears to be sleepwalking through all of his scenes. Producers have obviously found Mr. Dempsey’s kryptonite…horror films. While the veteran actor has shined in dramas and comedies, his horror performances are pitiful. As if his role as a detective in Scream 3 (the worst entry in that franchise) was not overacted enough, Dempsey takes his portrayal as the sheriff in this film to another level of absurdity, consistently attempting to be a serious man of the law in one scene, and then fuddling around like a keystone cop the next.
Despite the awful performances, jumbled script, and a disappointing overall kill count, Roth does enough to make the film watchable. There are a few good, never great, kills, sprinkled along with a decent amount of suspense filled scenes. Thanksgiving is like going for a holiday feast at your in-laws. You will have some good bites, a few laughs, but the best part of the evening will be when it is over.
Scream Score:6.9/10