Well, he’s finally done it: after nearly twenty years, Eli Roth has made a good movie.
I’ve made no secret of the fact that we here at No But Listen are not exactly Roth’s biggest fans, and, in fact, maybe his worst enemies. After decades in the horror genre, I’d yet to see a movie of his I thought lived up to the hype – and some of there are just downright bad films, too, from both a technical standpoint and an entertainment one.
But look, I’m not that petty, and I’m willing to admit when someone comes out with something great. And that’s exactly what Eli Roth’s latest, Thanksgiving, happens to be.
An ultra-gory splatter set at Thanksgiving, it hits a suitably campy, silly tone laced with pitch-black humor that really scratches an itch for me. Packed with inventive kills and suitably gross effects, it reminds me of a movie version of my beloved Slasher TV series – never taking itself too seriously, but never quite letting that silliness get in the way of telling a moderately fun story. There’s some surprisingly excellent filmmaking here too – the inciting incident, a mall riot that leaves several people dead, is genuinely really exciting, a very tight and well-directed, probably the most memorable part of the whole film for me.
Setting a horror movie in a holiday is a great and surprisingly underused conceit in the modern horror era, and Roth makes the most of the seasonal colors and decorations to create a visually interesting backdrop for the story to take place against. While Roth doesn’t have a great track record of writing likeable characters, here, at least, they’re unlikeable in a generally entertaining way, and performed with exactly the right douchebag aplomb I need. The small Massachusetts town it takes place in feels like a real, filled-out place, even if I wouldn’t want to be stuck in an elevator with any of the residents.
Of course, there are a few problems here: there are a couple of characters who feel like victims of being retro-fitted into a third act solution when Roth realized he’d written himself into a corner, and there’s a strange and pointless gun worship aside that doesn’t really lead to much. The script could have done with trusting the audience a little more, driving a few points home more than they strictly need to be driven. Maybe this is just me, too, but there was a lingering shot of a woman’s feet being basted with oil, and it just…reminded me how big an impact Quentin Tarantino had on Roth’s career, you know?
Overall, Thanksgiving feels like it’s just a couple of details away from being a perfect movie. There are still a few issues here, but it’s by far the best thing I’ve ever seen from Eli Roth. What did you think of Thanksgiving, and how do you think it compares to the rest of Roth’s filmography? Let me know in the comments!
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By Lou MacGregor
(header image via thanksgiving.movie)
No But Listen 