Thanksgiving
I've always been a fan of slasher flicks. I'm from the
"Scream" generation of 90's teens, that had one of the best slasher
flickers ever made, also giving way to a franchise that's on six films strong
and still going. And in the early 2000's, with the success of "Saw" a
new genre was born; torture porn. Saw was ground-breaking for a film made on a
shoestring budget, with a horrific premise and a twist no one saw coming, that
it's also still churning our instalments. But in the shadow of Saw, came a few
other flicks about people in the direst of circumstances being hand-picked to
be pulled apart, with the likes of "Hostel" and others.
It was Hostel that introduced the world to Eli Roth; a
filmmaker who doesn't hold back when it comes to gore and repulsion. Almost
twenty years after the film that launched his career, he's back with a meddling
of the torture porn genre and the slasher flick to bring us,
"Thanksgiving."
Horror films, and their sub-genre slasher flicks, really are
the types of movies that never die. Much like their almost super-human killers,
they just keep coming back. Regardless of the state of the movie industry
(which has seen better days), or whatever tentpole franchise is dominating the
box office, little horror films keep sneaking their way in, and making their
mark. Why is that?
We just love to be scared, and be reminded that it's all
make believe, even if the kills are graphic, the characters are relatable, and
the villain or monster resembles our worst nightmares come to life. And another
genre within the sub-genre of horror that are slasher clicks, is to have a
villain that coincides with a day of tradition or custom that falls under the
yearly calendar. Michael Myers did it first with "Halloween", and
we've had a bunch of Christmas themed slasher flicks, and even one about long-lost
love called "Valentine." So that begs the question; why wasn't there
a slasher who appears around Thanksgiving?
I guess because it's the yearly American holiday that
doesn't have anything dark or horrific associated with it like Halloween, nor
is it about marking the birth of Christ and exchanging gifts like Christmas.
Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks, as you know, and is that one last
weekend get-together before Christmas where the family gathers round the dining
table, eats turkey and shares what they’re grateful for. Oh, and let's not
forget in more recent times of commercialism and materialistic obsession, it's
also a weekend to go shopping and save money.
It's that frenzied gathering of hungry buyers waiting to
snatch up their favourite accessory for half price or less, that kicks of
proceedings in this film. It's an ugly reminder of the greed and lust people
have for products and saving a buck, and how stepping over (or in this case,
"on") someone to get a great bargain is completely justified.
Disaster strikes on this Thanksgiving shopping bonanza which results in the
death of several bystanders, with the fingers of blame pointed at a select group
of people. This is the purpose for our new killer (John Carver) to join the
ranks of his counterparts – Freddy, Jason, Michael - grab his axe, or whatever weapon he can find,
and cook up some trouble.
A little forewarning; being a slasher flick and directed by
Eli Roth, you can expect a lot of blood, a lot of gore and an overall
disturbing premise that leads to a new yearly tradition that may cause you to
never look at roast turkey the same way again.
A surprise hit at the box office this year, a sequel is
already in the works. Have we seen the start of a new franchise, or is this one
Thanksgiving dinner you will hopefully never have to sit through again?
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