Netflix is Serving a Shocking Seasonal Slasher Just in Time for Thanksgiving
I’m as guilty as everyone else when it comes to skipping straight over Thanksgiving to the remainder of the holiday season. As a horror fan, of course, that holiday is little more than an obstacle in the way to the Christmas horror classics I desperately want to watch. I need my fill of Black Christmas, a side of Krampus, and if I’m feeling really grim (and mean), some Calvaire for dessert. It’s more than just the innate holiday spirit.
When it comes to Thanksgiving horror movies, there’s really not that much to choose from among the pantheon of seasonal offerings. There’s Thankskilling, Blood Rage, and some direct-to-streaming titles, but nothing really all that worthwhile. It was a shock, then, when Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving was released last year. Not only was it firm Thanksgiving horror, but it was also one of the freshest slasher movies of the century. Just in time for the big day, you can catch the soon-to-be classic streaming on Netflix now.
Per Netflix: This Thanksgiving, the only things stuffed are the body bags. Patrick Dempsey and Gina Gershon star in this darkly funny seasonal slasher movie.
In an editorial on Thanksgiving at the time, Drew Tinnin wrote, “John Carver re-energizes the slasher genre at a crucial time when Ghostface has become more of a museum attraction and Art the Clown’s grotesque antics have suddenly become mainstream.” Tinnin was making the argument that Thanksgiving is pretty much a Scream movie, and one of the best at that, and I have to agree. If you love fun, gory, meta-slashers, Thanksgiving is a genuine breath of fresh air. It wears its nineties inspiration on its sleeves, but it’s more than mere homage—Thanksgiving regularly improves the formula.
In my own editorial, I additionally made the case that Thanksgiving has the best slasher film opening in years, writing, “Thanksgiving never loses steam, balancing both the scares and laughs the best a slasher movie has since Scream. It’s the best slasher opening in years, an earnest reminder that not everything needs to be reinvented. With a little throwback charm (and buckets of yucks), Thanksgiving’s opening proved decisively that slashers could matter again.”
Fans online have been thrilled to revisit the film a year later, especially since Thanksgiving is now streaming free. Check out some choice online reactions below:
I watched the Thanksgiving horror movie on Netflix. Tbh I still think Pilgrim on Hulu is the superior Thanksgiving horror movie. It’s camp
— ser nay of tw¡tter ☭(@winestepmom) November 22, 2024
#NowWatching Thanksgiving (2023) on Netflix with @cutekiller444 @Whorror_Fiend & @nervepills1! ☠️???? Let’s get this slasher party started ? pic.twitter.com/NwiJgmeq5U
— Paula ☠️(@PunkDemigoddess) November 22, 2024
Haven’t gotten to watch as much as I planned this weekend but there’s still a little time left. Now rewatching Thanksgiving on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/0Pr72ZulZF
— EveryoneIsACritic (@everyone_critic) November 17, 2024
Thanksgiving on @netflix is a good holiday slasher.
— Robert Rojas (@R000BBB) November 17, 2024
Y’all if you want a fun #horror #movie to watch, I recommend #Thanksgiving on #Netflix. I enjoyed it a lot, it was a very balanced #film over all that was ridiculous enough at points it offset some of the more gruesome aspects of it.
— cansofworms (@cansofworms4) October 19, 2024
What do you think? Is Thanksgiving going to be a new seasonal tradition for you? Remember, the film is now streaming free on Netflix, and whether you visit it for the first time or the tenth, let me know what you thought over on Twitter @Chadiscollins.
Categorized:News
