I got to see a sneak preview of Eli Roth’s long awaited feature version of Thanksgiving, one of the fake trailers made for the release of Robert Rodriquez and Quinten Taratino’s Grindhouse double feature back in 2007. While I’ve never been a huge fan of Roth’s work, I figured I would at least give this one a fair shot, although, to be perfectly honest, I was not expecting anything good. And I’m here to eat those words.
While it was a smaller theater where it was screened, all the seats were full, which I think is the best way to see this type of film. Roth really captured the feel of the ’80s slashers, while still making it in modern day. Like side dishes on the namesake holiday dinner, the red herrings and the gore are plentiful. The film is well crafted, with some really good jump scares, but also some really creepy moments as well. But it is the kind of film that is just a lot of fun and really is meant to be seen with a big crowd because there are plenty of scenes that are going to get a loud reaction.
If you get the chance to see this in the theater, I would highly recommend it. It is such a great throwback to those slasher films, but still made with love and care and not some cheap knock off that we usually see these days.
