Source: comingsoon.net
Thanksgiving is a widely-celebrated holiday in the United States and Canada to commemorate a feast that supposedly took place in November of 1621 between the English pilgrims and the Native American people that celebrated the former’s newfound freedom after boarding the Mayflower ship and escaping religious persecution under the English monarchy.
Thanksgiving is a day where, on the fourth Thursday of every November, families gather together to recognize and cherish all of the many blessings in their lives that all too often go unnoticed and unappreciated.
When I saw that a horror film was to be made about this blissful day connoted with the ideas of family and gratitude, I had hoped that this film would truly be unlike any other that I had ever seen.
Most of us associate horror movies with the Halloween season and the month of October as numerous films in the genre are centered around the time of Halloween, such as the hit slasher film series “Halloween.”
“Thanksgiving” tells a story of a man on a murderous rampage who conceals his identity with a John Carver mask. John Carver was a passenger on the Mayflower ship and the first governor of the Plymouth colony. The film is fittingly set in modern-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, during the Thanksgiving season.
I was caught off-guard when shortly after the film began, viral TikTok influencer Addison Rae showed up on the screen, starring as one of the lead roles in the film. Rae pleasantly surprised me with her acting skills, specifically her ability to demonstrate true terror throughout the film.
“Thanksgiving” included scenes that were meant to be lighthearted and comical, but I found the jokes to be less than humorous and quite cringe-worthy.
I would say that the “funny” parts of the film seemed forced and almost as though the writers tried to make the humor palatable to younger audiences, such as members of Generation Z, but were unsuccessful.
To name one specific example from the film, the term “NPC,’’ which is an abbreviation for “non-playable character” and is used in reference to people who do things that are unusual or unconventional, is a popular term among people of Generation Z, and was used in a context where it was not necessary and quite honestly did not make a lot of sense.
I would go as far as to say that the writers of “Thanksgiving” tried to jam-pack the film with pop culture references to appeal to young people.
Though I do have my fair share of criticisms for the film, I must give “Thanksgiving” its flowers in the horror aspect, which I found to be the most memorable part of the film.
“Thanksgiving” met my expectation of being unlike any film I had ever seen before in respect to the way that “John Carver” revealed his victims through various Instagram posts, showing their lifeless (and some dismembered) bodies sitting around a dinner table, similarly to how families do at Thanksgiving dinner.
I found this to be an unique idea to place into the plot, and it undoubtedly made “Thanksgiving” a film to remember.
I found some parts after the first few opening scenes of the movie to be somewhat dull; this was where many of the corny jokes were made.
But as the movie progressed, especially after the first hour or so, the movie grew much more on me and I became way more intrigued and interested in what was going to happen next.
The film’s twists and turns in the storyline were unexpected and shocking, especially the final plot twist, where something that made perfect sense to the audience completely changed and, to speak for myself, caught me completely off guard.
One thing in particular I also noticed while watching the preview for “Thanksgiving” on Nov. 16 was the parallels it shares with the film I reviewed in the previous issue: “Saw X.” “John Carver” seeks after people who have done immoral things, much like how John Kramer does in the “Saw” franchise.
However, I wouldn’t compare the two movies in any other way than this specific parallel as the two movies have many differences.
Despite the poorness of the jokes relating to pop culture, “Thanksgiving” is definitely one worth watching that I would recommend anybody to see.
From Addison Rae’s success in portraying a lead role to the surprising plot twists, this film blew my mind in many ways and I believe it deserves all of the acclaim it has received since its Nov. 17 release.