Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving gives us holiday horror to feast upon

When Quentin Tarrantino’s Grindhouse was released in 2007, it came complete with faux film trailers, including the Eli Roth creation Thanksgiving. Grindhouse was a double feature consisting of Planet Terror and Death Proof, and the trailer for Thanksgiving was created to fit in with those two films. Viewers were captivated by the bloody fake film, and have always wished it would become a feature film.

The holidays are a time when wishes can come true, and now Eli Roth’s little trailer has become a full-blown film, which will be released on November 17…fittingly, right before Thanksgiving. Directed and co-produced by Eli Roth, it looks to be just what fans have wanted (judging by the trailer, which is for real this time).

Jeff Rendell and Roth are both responsible for the story, and share the producer credit, with Rendell writing the screenplay. It stars Patrick Dempsey, Addison Rae, Jalen Thomas Brooks, Milo Manheim, Nell Verlaque, Rick Hoffman and Gina Gershon, and that trailer is EVERYTHING.

Sony Pictures’ official synopsis for Thanksgiving is as follows:

"“After a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, a mysterious Thanksgiving-inspired killer terrorizes Plymouth, Massachusetts – the birthplace of the holiday. Picking off residents one by one, what begins as random revenge killings are soon revealed to be part of a larger, sinister holiday plan. Will the town uncover the killer and survive the holidays…or become guests at his twisted holiday dinner table?”"

Eli Roth is said to have begun working on the story for the new film back in 2010. Though that may seem a long time to create what appears to be a fun, cheesy, splatter-y film, he has stayed pretty busy over the years since. During the past 13 years, he has worked on films such as The Green Inferno, Knock Knock, Cabin Fever, The House with a Clock in Its Walls, and Haunt, as well as multiple seasons of AMC’s Eli Roth’s History of Horror. He has also acted in films, including Inglourious Basterds, Pianha 3D, Rock of Ages and Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

Thanksgiving horror is mostly overlooked

Horror fans have long lamented the sad lack of Thanksgiving horror. There are a few Turkey-Day themed films of course – Thankskilling, Black Friday  and Hulu’s Pilgrim (which I highly recommend) are fun watches – but compared to the number of Halloween and Christmas horror flicks, Thanksgiving is largely ignored in the realm of holiday horror.

All of that may now change with Eli Roth’s new film, and I for one am looking forward to indulging!

Watch the trailer below: