Thanksgiving
TriStar Pictures | Release Date: November 17, 2023 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews
Positive:
23
Mixed:
8
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Original-CinThom ErnstNov 20, 2023
The film is Roth’s, and so expect a silly premise, comic-book violence, and gory set pieces. What you might not expect is the humour. Thanksgiving is funny. Read full review
91
IndieWireAlison ForemanNov 16, 2023
Thanksgiving will get a visceral reaction out of you even if it’s not as graphic as you might expect from the guy behind some of the so-called “toture porn” genre’s most infamous staples. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubMatthew JacksonNov 16, 2023
Packed with memorable kills, knowing winks, and a playful slasher whodunit plot, Thanksgiving is a horror feast worth sitting through, even if it never exactly pushes beyond the bounds of its central hook. Read full review
83
ColliderEmma KielyNov 15, 2023
With Thanksgiving, Roth brings horror back to basics and reminds us that it can be nasty, gory, gnarly, and a ton of fun all at once. Read full review
80
We Got This CoveredTaylor MansfieldNov 17, 2023
Thanksgiving is a definitive passion project built on satisfyingly gory visuals, compelling storytelling, and inventive kills that provide a holiday treat for die-hard slasher fans. Read full review
80
The TelegraphEd PowerNov 16, 2023
For giddy gore-hounds, Roth’s Thanksgiving is a bloody feast to savour. Read full review
80
The GuardianCharles BramescoNov 15, 2023
Roth thinks in hooks and punchlines, which keeps the copious slayings inventive and gratifying while also enlivening the connective tissue between them. Read full review
80
TheWrapTomris LafflyNov 15, 2023
Undercooked dishes aside, with eye-popping production design and an invitingly rowdy premise, you feel just thankful enough for the full, calorie-rich meal Roth’s latest slasher provides — bones and all, but no leftovers. Read full review
80
The Daily BeastNick SchagerNov 15, 2023
Thanksgiving is less a cheap rollercoaster ride than a faithfully grisly throwback, complete with more than a few subtle (and not-so-subtle) shout-outs to Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th. Read full review
80
Total FilmJames MottramNov 15, 2023
Blending OTT gore, devilish humor and on-the-nose satire, this is sick, twisted and hugely enjoyable. Read full review
76
PolygonAusten GoslinNov 17, 2023
Few movies have ever struck that balance quite as well as Craven’s four Scream movies. Thanksgiving doesn’t quite reach that series’ meteoric heights, but it comes far closer than anything else in recent years — including the Scream franchise itself. Read full review
75
Paste MagazineBrianna ZiglerNov 20, 2023
Roth and Rendell find the perfect balance of humor and horror, understanding the absurdity of their premise while still making their characters buy into the world. What that creates is a film embracing its own silliness, free of irony, while avoiding the pitfalls of oversentimentality. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineKyle TurnerNov 16, 2023
This Thanksgiving is a slasher for today, slickly made, coolly mean, and with a satiric bite. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comNick AllenNov 15, 2023
Thanksgiving is thrillingly pure in its nastiness and has more in common with ‘80s films like “Mother’s Day,” “Graduation Day,” and “New Year’s Evil” than its modern mainstream peers (the “Terrifier” blood bonanzas are an indie exception). Roth’s head-chopping whodunit doesn’t use “Grindhouse” aesthetics, but it’s a classic at heart. Read full review
70
Film ThreatAlex SavelievNov 23, 2023
Fans of Roth will gobble, gobble this up. Read full review
70
IGNA.A. Dowd Nov 17, 2023
Eli Roth finally adapts his fake trailer into a real slasher movie – and it’s not without its nasty charms Read full review
70
Screen RantGraeme GuttmannNov 16, 2023
Thanksgiving is special in the way all good slashers are — it's funny and gruesome, with a trashy B-movie energy and a solid whodunit at the center of it all. Read full review
70
The New York TimesGlenn KennyNov 16, 2023
[Roth] knows his stuff and he’s very adept at serving up both gross-outs and real leap-from-your-seat moments. Read full review
70
VarietyOwen GleibermanNov 15, 2023
Thanksgiving follows the rules of the slasher genre, but it’s got a more charged and entertainingly hyperbolic atmosphere than these movies used to have. Read full review
70
SlashfilmJeremy MathaiNov 15, 2023
More than anything else, Thanksgiving is a gnarly, entertaining, and gleefully over-the-top fright fest — one that demands to be enjoyed in rowdy midnight screenings at repertory theaters for years to come. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerNov 15, 2023
A loving, gory, ribald slasher flick that is both serious about the genre and gruesomely ridiculous. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliNov 20, 2023
In the 1980s, this would have been deemed generic and forgettable. In the 2020s, it stands out because of its unapologetic exhumation of a partly-dormant genre. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsNov 16, 2023
I’d place Thanksgiving halfway between “fair” and “good.” Inevitably, Roth can’t keep his baser storytelling and filmmaking instincts at bay forever. Read full review
60
EmpireJames WhiteNov 20, 2023
The ingredients are absolutely familiar, but what makes the whole recipe satisfying is the sheer amount of gruesome fun Roth manages to have with the concept. Don’t go in expecting characters you’ll care about — just enjoy the stalk/slash/slice/bake terror on offer. Read full review
58
The Film StageAlistair RyderNov 15, 2023
When unashamedly embracing a slasher persona, it proves far better than it has any right to be––what a shame these simple genre thrills are tangled in a more confused attempt at horror-comedy. Read full review
50
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenNov 18, 2023
By the time the big reveal comes along, it’s almost beside the point. The audience, so numbed by the gore, is likely to barely care who indeed did it. Read full review
50
VoxAja RomanoNov 17, 2023
Roth (Hostel) always loves a good gorefest, and this one is no different — but he tends to hover just around the edges of social satire, which in this case seems to leave him unsure how seriously to take his own film. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriNov 17, 2023
Roth has a talent for anticipation, but not really for suspense. We don’t watch Thanksgiving wondering what’s going to happen next to these people. We watch because we know what’s going to happen next to these people. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreNov 15, 2023
The Cult of Roth will almost certainly eat this holiday horror feast up. But this turkey is never more than a mixed bag, and as the laughs peter out and the “clues” are contrived to fit the finale, “Thanksgiving” takes that tryptophan turn towards nodding off, the curse of Turkey Day since that first Thanksgiving — in Virginia. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshNov 15, 2023
If Thanksgiving had to be any specific dish on the holiday table, it would be stuffing: disparate chunks tossed together and baked. Stuffing is a dish where old bread goes to shine — a cheap and easy crowd-pleaser. But this particular serving of it is missing a crucial element, the binder. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckNov 15, 2023
It offers plenty of cheap thrills, or more accurately cheap kills, presented with the sort of attention to bloodthirsty detail that horror aficionados crave. Pity, though, that there aren’t really any more actual grindhouses. Read full review
30
Rolling StoneDavid FearNov 17, 2023
Thanksgiving is less a movie than a messy attempt to coast off an oldie-but-goodie one-off without adding anything to the party. It can 100 percent go stuff itself. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonNov 16, 2023
The problems with Thanksgiving are many, starting with the awful script by Jeff Rendell. Not only is the story — concocted by Roth and Rendell — predictable, but there is not one clever line of dialogue in the whole 107-minute film. The cast and characters are bland. Read full review
0
ObserverRex ReedNov 20, 2023
It’s as scary as a pumpkin pie left in the oven too long. Instead of horror, it’s pretty funny. Read full review
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