The Grindhouse was a  double feature film that came out back in 2007. The pair of films Death Proof and Planet Terror was directed by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez.  Between the two films for trailers for other films that weren’t actual films until Machete came out and now another one is coming out this holiday season called Thanksgiving. There won’t be any leftovers this Thanksgiving.  Fans have been clamoring for this movie for a while and they finally got it.

Thanksgiving takes place in,  of all places,  Plymouth Massachusetts.  It’s like any other town. All the people try to get their gifts for Christmas on black Friday.  Instead of Walmart or Target, the big store in town is Right Mart. Swarms of people try to get themselves a free waffle iron. It got a little out of control though. Windows were smashed, security guards were trampled and a lot of people got hurt. Including specifically a woman played by Gina Gershon,  who was near and dear to the local Sheriff Newton’s (Patrick Dempsey) heart.

Fast forward an entire year and the town hasn’t forgotten about this tragedy. At least one member of the town has started a killing spree. The Killer wears a John Carter mask and carries an ax. He was one of the first pilgrims who landed on Plymouth Rock. It’s a symbol of this town on this day. He is using video footage of the incident the year before to identify who were the culprits in causing the stampede at the store the year before. He has decided to have his own makeshift Thanksgiving dinner with various people he blames for this tragedy. 

Eli Roth, who is no stranger to bloody disgusting horror films, is the director of this film based on that trailer from the Grindhouse. He uses every trick in the book to kill off various characters and or torture them. It is definitely a gore fest in this film. Like all horror films though there is somewhat of a story with characters we as viewers have to root for and against. A local high school girl is the daughter of the store owner and her and her friends get wrapped up in all the craziness.

The cast is a big one with mostly actors and actresses I’m not that familiar with. Teens make up most of the characters in the film with a few adults littered in the large cast. Roth gives these young actors and actresses a lot to do in the film. Between backing about high school rivalries and relationships they also play a part in trying to figure out who is doing all the brutal killings. The mystery is not easy to figure out but any true horror fan can pretty much figure out the killer’s motivations and who he is based on the first sequence. The script by Jeff Rendell and Roth isn’t that clever but it’s not bad either.

Thanksgiving creates a feast for the eyes if you’re a horror fan. Roth weaves in a lot of of horror tropes with bloody and violent kills and torture sequences. The cast is a big one but aren’t the best. Nell Verlaque as Jessica is the standout. The big name in the cast Pattick Dempsey plays a huge part but even he seems like he is cutting up too much. This is more of a horror comedy than a regular horror film meant to scare audiences half to death. I understand it was based on a fake trailer in the Grindhouse film but give me a little bit of authenticity with the story. Make it a little more serious than this film does.  This movie will surely pack in audiences this holiday season but it didn’t do much for me.

2 stars

Dan Skip Allen