With Scream 7 slowly crumbling to the ground, it was an exciting prospect to have a new slasher franchise kicking off, camp, violent and jumpscarey. I think Thanksgiving ticks most of those boxes, and with a little bit better characterisation, this could have been a really strong start to a franchise. The film does nothing new with the genre, doesn’t innovate on characters or plotlines BUT it has some really gross kills and a silly new mask to wear on Halloween. It is also very wisely not based on a real American historical figure, because if John Carver was real, he would have likely been questionable in his politics and treatment of anyone without a powdered wig. We can know peacefully dress up as a fictional serial killer without any historical baggage, phew.
After a Black Friday sale at the local Wrightmart, a riot breaks out over the jaw dropping deals and a free waffle maker. We get some crushed security guards, an essentially scalped manager’s wife (Gina Gershon) and the broken arm of a star pitcher in the making, Bobby (Jalen Thomas Brooks). The film opens with some heavy violence and chaos, throwing you into the Thanksgiving universe in the best way possible.
Jumping to one year later, we have the motivation for the killer’s origin, as the anniversary approaches, protests arise at the thought that Wrightmart may reignite their Black Friday sale and act like nothing happened the year previous. Jessica Wright (Nell Verlaque), the daughter of the owner of Wrightmart and her group of friends start to get tagged in Instagram posts by a John Carver account, teasing that something is coming, a true influencer. These threats ramp up when we see the death of one of the patrons of last year's riot brutally killed and displayed on the Wrightmart shop sign.
The kills keep on coming, getting closer and closer to the friend group, as they desperately scramble to find out who the killer is, and how to stop them.
The kills in this film are pretty creative, not a traditional slasher in the way that it is just slashing. We have a saw kill, trampoline death and a particularly festive corn on the cob skewer. The character of John Carver is a great entry into the horror villain catalogue. He has that almost supernatural ability to be anywhere and avoid detection and a nice voice modulator for any communications. John also has what no killer before him has had, an Instagram following, and a potential for brand deals. Quick Instagram side note, they are notoriously strict, and I can only suspend my disbelief so much before I start questioning why Instagram has not taken down a picture of a severed head.
I do think there is a little bit of a lack of scares in the film, only having a few true jumpscares. The kills are good enough to distinguish the film as a horror without leaving it boring even with the lack of the adrenaline rush of sudden loud noises.
The friend group are a bit on the bland side, holding the film back from being a great start to a franchise, to just one with some potential. I think when you look at the original Scream, and what made it work, was the cast of characters around the killer and the potentiality that it could be any of them. This film plays it a little safe leading to a lack of questioning the inner circle, taking away some of that mystique. I think Jessica is a good main character, with a lot of heart, but this kind of pushes her even further away from her friends, as they’re painted with a bit of a “mean girl” group. They also don’t get much backstory, so any revelations that may or may not occur wouldn’t have hit with the impact that one from a more developed character list would have.
The depth of horror often lives in the subtext of its stories or themes, like responsibility in Halloween or the commentary on Slashers that Scream has throughout it. This film lacks a lot of subtext in it to diversify itself from an everyday horror. It sets itself up as one that may look into commercialisation or family values but doesn’t really explore either of those in interesting ways, leaving the film feeling a bit vapid in parts. While I don’t need a dissection on capitalism, it deepens the connection we can build with a story, leading into a franchise where we know what to expect. I do hope this world gets fleshed out and explored further, giving more story to the killer and the victims in any sequels that this story might spawn.
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