What to watch with your family this Thanksgiving can become a never-ending debate, especially given the seemingly endless options that streaming services offer. To save you time this holiday weekend, we've selected a thematically appropriate film that should definitely bring the whole family* together: the Turkey Day slasher thanksgiving.
*”bringing the family together” can mean “being sickened by immaculately crafted blood”
Directed by gore master Eli Roth, originally based on his Grindhouse just before the same name, thanksgiving is a holiday slasher that follows a small New England town that is terrorized by a murderous Thanksgiving mascot exactly one year after a Black Friday tragedy.
The whole thing is just as silly and ridiculous as it sounds, but it's also a damn good time. Each of the film's many, many kills gets progressively bigger, gorier and more absurd, but the real appeal of this film is how carefully it dials up its tension, finding the perfect line to make every moment exciting without ever being truly frightening. More importantly, for a silly slasher of this ilk thanksgiving There's a great mix of characters that make you excited and characters that feel tailor-made so you can cheer as they meet their fate. As for appeal to the entire family, there's even a cast that spans generations of pop culture Grey's Anatomyfrom Patrick Dempsey to TikTok's Addison Rae. This delicate balance secretly makes it a perfect watch for a group that enjoys horror films but may have varying levels of tolerance for the actual horrors those films contain… as long as everyone is looking for particularly gnarly and graphic murders.
Of course, that brings with it the biggest caveat to this recommendation: whether or not the idea of watching a particularly gory horror movie together on Thanksgiving fits your family's idea of a good time. As far as my family is concerned, a good goofy slasher that's equal parts fun and gory is always a perfect way to spend some time together. If this sounds like something you can relate to, then this one is perfect for your Happy Thanksgiving.
thanksgiving is streaming on Netflix.
