Thanksgiving Day — that national holiday in autumn, right between spooky Halloween and jolly Christmas. It’s a time to gather the family around the television set — not to watch football, but to watch thanksgiving horror movies
5. Thanksgiving (2006)
On a day when everyone is giving thanks, four friends sat down for Thanksgiving dinner. With a knock at the door, the young couple thought they were helping another person in need but instead found themselves living a horrific experience by being bound, beaten, tortured, and killed. This film is based on actual events!
4. Home Sweet Home (1981)
Perhaps the only Thanksgiving-themed horror movie ever directed by a woman (Nettie Peña), Home Sweet Home (also released as Slasher in the House) traces the story of a PCP-addicted murderer who escapes from a mental hospital, steals a car, and begins murdering people who have gathered for Thanksgiving dinner at a remote ranch on the outskirts of town.
3. Blood Freak (2020)
What happens when a Vietnam veteran becomes accidentally addicted to marijuana after sexy young coeds seduce him, decides to taste-test chemically-enhanced turkeys to support his habit, then dies and is resurrected as a murderous psychopath with the body of a man and the head of a bird? To find out, look no further than Brad Grinter’s “Blood Freak,” a lowbrow, exploitative drive-in effort full of poultry heads run amok.
2. Black Friday (2021)
Casey Tebo’s “Black Friday,” a fun alien invasion flick that merges the likes of “The Thing” with some socially aware, consumerist terror, is the most recent entry on this list. Devon Sawa stars as Ken, one of many miserable associates working at We Love Toys, a fictional (and unfortunately sparse, likely on account of the film’s budget) retailer on Thanksgiving evening. The early comedic beats are broad yet land successfully. Anyone who has had to leave Thanksgiving dinner early for a shift at the mall will empathize with Ken’s ennui. Further, once the carnage starts, “Black Friday” narrows its focus well, delivering some worthwhile gore and genuine suspense.
This film is available on Amazon Prime.
1. ThanksKilling (2008)
The film begins in the year 1621, and a topless woman is killed by a tomahawk-wielding, anthropomorphized turkey who shouts, “Nice t*ts, b*tch!” Now tell me, how can anyone not think this is a classic Thanksgiving movie? It’s not Thanksgiving without this crude, hilarious, killer turkey axing off college kids. This is a cinematic masterpiece. I am absolutely astonished that this has not won an oscar. Turkey’s acting was phenomenal. The plot line was brilliant.
This Oscar-worthy film is on Amazon Prime.
