B Movies Blog

Hello, Movie Mavens! Welcome back to the B Movies Blog. Today, we’re popping some Thanksgiving horror movies into the ol’ VCR. 

Now, friends, there aren’t very many Thanksgiving-themed horror movies, but I do think there are a handful that should be recognized. Additionally, with the upcoming release of Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving, based on his infamous trailer from Grindhouse, I think we need to give some love to the few Thanksgiving horror movies we’ve been blessed with over the years. 

The first dish on the table should be an obvious one: Blood Rage. John Grissmer’s 1987 cult classic tells the tale of Terry and Todd, twin boys…one with a penchant for murder. A decade after his wrongfully committed brother breaks out of his confinement, Terry goes on a murderous rampage on Thanksgiving. Blood Rage may be an over-the-top pleasure, but it’s not cranberry sauce. 

Next up we have ThanksKilling and ThanksKilling 3. And yes, you read that correctly; there is no ThanksKilling 2 — it’s a whole bit. I discovered ThanksKilling by complete accident in high school, so, naturally, I showed it to every single person I knew.*

*Note: The trailer is age restricted, so y’all are on your own here. 

It’s one of the most ridiculous movies I’ve ever seen, and I still have to fight the urge to quote it to this very day. You can imagine my surprise when I found there was actually another ThanksKilling. While the first is my favorite, ThanksKilling 3 is still a fun time. And where else can you find a turkey wearing a man’s face, a la Hannibal Lecter? Fair warning, this movie is very Troma-esque, so viewers beware. 

Yes, this is a real scene from ThanksKilling that I have, in no way, altered. 

Move over the mashed potatoes to make room for Pilgrim. Born from Blumhouse’s Into the Dark anthology series, Pilgrim is a new edition into the Thanksgiving horror subgenre. Long story short, a family looking for an “authentic” Puritanical Thanksgiving gets more than they bargained for after hiring reenactors. This little gem is often overlooked, but it’s worth the watch. 

Lastly, I hope you saved room for one last side. I know Black Friday takes place the day after Thanksgiving, but it’s close enough that I thought I’d count it. Also, it has both Devon Sawa and Bruce Campbell in it, so there’s no way I wasn’t going to include it. I digress. 

Black Friday tells the story of a ragtag group of retail workers who must band together after an infestation turns already unpleasant customers into zombie-like creatures. Think Night of the Consumers meets Shaun of the Dead with a sprinkling of Night of the Creeps. 

Thanksgiving is a time for stuffing your face and remembering how terrible our ancestors were. But, it’s also a time to consume the few horror releases we’ve been given over the years.

Eat up, movie mavens.