Thanksgiving, a time of year when family and friends gather to spend time with each other and give thanks to the year they’ve had with each other over a large scale dinner. But in the recently released movie “Thanksgiving,” the holiday reality becomes much darker and twisted.

Set in Plymouth, Massachusetts, a group of teens are mourning after the previous year’s incident where a Black Friday riot led to the deaths of innocent people. Now one year later, someone has come to seek revenge on the teens and their town.

The town is thrown into a terrifying state as a mysterious killer in a mask resembling historic pilgrim John Carver starts leaving a trail of dead in its wake. What many believe to be randomly selected victims eventually turns into something more as the victims are all connected to the Black Friday riot.

With an interesting set of characters played by actors such as Patrick Dempsey and online personalities like Addison Rae, “Thanksgiving” drives itself home with a return to classic horror film tropes, such as drawn out chase scenes and a set group of victims. It prides itself as a typical slasher film but with modern day weapon choices and gore all around. The clues left behind by the mysterious killer leave you guessing who the person behind the mask is until the end of the movie when it’s finally revealed.

 I also have to commend the movie plot as it’s full of twists and turns that keep you guessing about what is coming next, whether it’s another kill or a breakthrough in figuring out who the masked killer is.

The movie’s set and scenery give a sense of nostalgia for the holiday, all while maintaining the mystery and horror themed mood. For a horror movie involving the Thanksgiving holiday, I think it made perfect sense to set the story in Plymouth since it was one of the first colonies in America.

The inspiration for this film actually came from another movie that premiered in 2007 titled “Grindhouse,” which was made to present as a double feature by directors Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. 

Halfway through the film, a set of fake movie trailers is shown to make the movie truly seem like a double feature. One of those trailers was for a horror movie titled “Thanksgiving.” What originally was a joke trailer in a movie now became its own slasher 16 years later.

Overall, this is a good horror film if you’re a fan of gore, but it’s also a good film for those who enjoy mysteries and thrillers as well. 

“Thanksgiving” came slashing into theaters on Nov. 17, just in time for the holiday itself, and has received positive reviews so far, earning a 7.1/10  on IMDB. 

From one horror movie fan to another, you definitely don’t want to miss out on this film.