It was 16 years ago when Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez gave us the Grindhouse double-feature Death Proof/Planet Terror. Between the two movies were fake trailers (by Rob Zombie, Edgar Wright, and Eli Roth). I was surprised these fun things all put together didn’t do well at the box office, but what’s funny is – someone got such a kick out of the fake movie trailer for “Machete” (Danny Trejo), that they made a real movie out of it (which wasn’t nearly as good as the trailer). Now they finally made a real movie out of the fake horror trailer for “Thanksgiving” (gotta love the knife used for the “K” in the title, as well as the tagline: “There will be no leftovers”)
I had to drag my wife to the screening of this, much like how you might have to drag a spouse to the in-laws for a Thanksgiving dinner. Despite how gory the movie was, she and I actually had a lot of fun with this throwback to the older style horror flicks. That makes it the perfect movie for all age groups (if you like this sort of thing).
The story takes place in Plymouth, Massachusetts. It starts with a Black Friday sale (that for some reason is actually on the Thursday of Thanksgiving), and people die at the Right Mart (things get vicious when free waffle irons are on the line). The audience at the screening couldn’t stop laughing at the madness, and surprisingly smart humor.
The movie then starts, and we see it’s a year later. The store owner, despite the bad PR he got, is going to have another sale, and is making preparations for a commercial. The town is preparing for a parade. (It will be a parade that becomes crazier than the one in “Animal House”).
A killer dons a Pilgrim mask and ax, and starts killing the folks involved in the deaths the previous year (a security guard who fled the mayhem, teenagers who taunted people, the store owner, etc.).
The man recently dubbed the “sexiest man alive” – Patrick Dempsey – has a great role as the caring sheriff. Rick Hoffman plays the store owner (and has a voice that makes me think he should have a second career doing voice-over work). Gina Gershon, who I last saw playing an old grandmother on screen, is back looking as gorgeous as ever. Comedian Tim Dillon plays the wimpy security guard (and seems to be channeling Chris Farley).
Writer Jeff Rendell deserves a mention, because he penned a script that leans into the slasher flick tropes and the movie works better because of it. It has a lot of humor that works, and a whodunit that’s clever.
Because every movie seems to have a vomit scene these days, this movie gives you a few (when your mouth is tied up so you don’t scream, that makes it grosser).
There are a number of funny scenes. One that comes to mind is the local gun dealer in town, ranting about Black Sabbath and how they improved when Dio replaced Ozzy as lead vocalist. And, speaking of rock ‘n roll, I’m really picky about needle-drops. A great filmmaker does those perfectly (although I’m not quite ready to anoint Eli Roth “great”). During one workout scene, instead of playing a popular song by Metallica or Guns N’ Roses, they went with “Three Lock Box” by Sammy Hagar. I’m guessing less than 1% of the population knows this early ‘80s song, but it’s a thousand times funnier for people like me that do know it. I felt the same way when the movie “Sideways” used a Pat Travers song (Snortin’ Whiskey) when a tow truck driver was having sex, with Paul Giamatti hiding under the bed.
The movie gets extra credit for also ending with The Misfits “Where Eagles Dare”.
There’s a sexy and scary scene involving a trampoline (anybody remember Adam Carolla’s “The Man Show?), and many other scenes people will have a blast with.
3 stars out of 5, and be warned – it’s really, really gory.