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Thanksgiving horror movies: Holiday horror to gobble up this Thanksgiving

By Carla Davis

Into The Dark -- "Pilgrim" - Episode 114 -- Inspired by true events: In an attempt to remind her family of their privilege and help them bond, Ms. Anna Barker invites Pilgrim reenactors to stay with them over Thanksgiving. When the ÒactorsÓ refuse to break character, the Barker family learns that there is such a thing as too much gratitude. Anna (Courtney Henggeler), shown. (Photo by: Patrick Wymore/Hulu)
Into The Dark -- "Pilgrim" - Episode 114 -- Inspired by true events: In an attempt to remind her family of their privilege and help them bond, Ms. Anna Barker invites Pilgrim reenactors to stay with them over Thanksgiving. When the ÒactorsÓ refuse to break character, the Barker family learns that there is such a thing as too much gratitude. Anna (Courtney Henggeler), shown. (Photo by: Patrick Wymore/Hulu) /
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Thanksgiving is not notorious for giving us holiday-inspired horror, but there are a few Thanksgiving horror movies out there that give us those horrifying Turkey Day vibes.

Christmas and Halloween definitely beat out Thanksgiving for the holidays most likely to inspire a horror film, but savvy fans of horror are probably familiar with 2008’s Thankskilling. It’s more comedy than it is true horror and features such campy icons as a topless pilgrim and an ax-wielding, murderous turkey.

Made on a budget of $3,500, it seems to be an intentionally bad film, and its cult following led to a stage musical adaptation. It was also popular enough to warrant a sequel in 2012, titled Thankskilling 3. And I know people who include it in their November horror viewing every year.

For those of us who prefer our horror to be a bit more intense, let’s hop on over to Hulu, and check out their original anthology series Into the Dark. Each month, a new episode is presented, with each of these episodes tying in with the current month in some way. Some episodes work better than others, and the best of them all was Pilgrim, released in November of last year.

I never know quite how to describe Pilgrim when I recommend it to people. The words that seem most appropriate to describe this tasty morsel are: bonkers, insane, crazy…you get the picture. Pilgrim starts out simply enough, introducing us to Anna, her husband Shane, their young son Tate, and Shane’s teenage daughter Cody.

Thanksgiving horror movies
Into The Dark — “Pilgrim” – (Photo by: Patrick Wymore/Hulu) /

Cody is the typical teenage girl, always at odds with her father and stepmother and rebelling in any way possible, though she genuinely cares about her half brother. Anna decides that it’s time for her family to bond, and hires a pair of pilgrim re-enactors to spend a few days with them, preparing for the holiday in an old-fashioned way.

Ethan and Patience are a bit more than Anna bargained for, and they take their job very seriously. By the time the big feast is ready to be devoured, we have been treated to mad, crazy violence and plenty of bloodshed. I honestly loved Pilgrim, and I can’t wait to watch it this year.

Speaking of 2020, another Thanksgiving favorite is back this year, the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Turkey Day Marathon. Presented by Shout! Factory and Alternaversal Productions, the show hosts will be introducing the 5 most popular episodes of MST3K, as voted on by fans. For more information on how to participate in the Turkey Day Marathon, head on over to the website.

dark. Next. Shudder brings in the ho-ho-horror in December

Are you a fan of holiday-inspired horror? What are your favorite Thanksgiving horror movies? Give us your recommendations in the comments section.

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