Some movies have an iconic relationship with holidays, like watching “Home Alone” around Christmas and the “Scream” movies around Halloween. For decades, Thanksgiving remained the one holiday that had no movie of its own, until 2023, when the appropriately-titled “Thanksgiving” hit theaters. While most people don’t usually associate Thanksgiving with thrills and chills, this horror movie will give you that option if you’re looking for something out of the ordinary.

The movie is about a small Massachusetts town that eventually gets terrorized by a psycho seeking revenge for the crowd for the loss of his loved one in a tragic Thanksgiving accident. What also makes this movie related to Thanksgiving is that the killer wears a John Carver mask. (If the name John Carver does not ring any bells, he was one of the Pilgrims who made the Mayflower voyage in 1620.)

Teenager Jessica (Nell Verlaque) has to fight for her life and the lives of her friends while trying to stop the killer. Thanksgiving-related topics like Black Friday sales and turkeys make an appearance in this film as well, with some dark humor thrown in as well. For example, during the Black Friday sale that kicks the conflict into gear, a woman for whom the killer has feelings when she’s trampled by a crowd of shoppers seeking a free waffle maker. It’s just one scene of many that rely on a mixture of violence, gore, and humor.

Upon its release in November of 2023, “Thanksgiving” never got beyond the number four place at the box office, so a lot of people missed it, including FCHS junior Benjamin Todd, who said he first heard about it when he was scrolling on his phone and stumbled upon the trailer. When he watched the first scene of the trailer, he was disappointed in everything, from the characters to the backstory. Bored, he still decided to watch the actual movie which by then was out on Netflix.

Todd said he quickly concluded that it was one of the worst movies ever made. 

“I think that they should have changed the whole plot of the movie or never even released it at all,” said Todd, who adds that the movie had a “tremendous” amount of gore and feels that no one should waste their time watching it. 

I have a different take on the movie. I think that “Thanksgiving” is almost amazing. Addison Rae, who plays Gabby, is an amazing actor, so much so that despite her being new to acting, she makes challenging situations seem very realistic. At one point, one character gets severely injured by her hair getting stuck in a shopping cart wheel. The way that the producers makes the special effects look real is almost mind-blowing, so I appreciate the film’s special effects. One con is that I wish that there could have been multiple killers. With a whole group of characters in the movie, it’s not realistic for only a single killer to do so much harm. 

Some people may dislike this movie while others may love it, so overall, I recommend “Thanksgiving” to people who have absolutely nothing to do and don’t mind intense gore scenes. I would rate this movie a seven out of ten. The movie is rated R due to horror and bloody violence, so it’s best suited for those over 14.