A Thanksgiving Horror Movie for Every Tradition

Whether you’re in charge of the dinner, a Black Friday fiend, or meeting your new in-laws, there’s a Thanksgiving horror movie for all of us.

November has to be one of the slowest months for horror fans. There’s the Halloween hangover that comes after the scary movie month that is October, and December provides plenty of snowbound and Santa-themed horror films. November is in the unfortunate in-between.

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, use this guide to direct you to the best movie that fits you, and enjoy a horror-filled beginning to the holiday season.

If You’re A Black Friday Shopper: Thanksgiving (2023)

Eli Roth’s 2023 film Thanksgiving wasn’t the first to lay claim to the cinematic calendar opening between John Carpenter’s Halloween and Bob Clark’s Black Christmas. Still, it is the most high-profile—and one of the few that is even any good.

Based on his own fake ’70s slasher trailer in between the two features of 2007’s Grindhouse, Roth not only updated his film for the modern-day, but he also went all out with the Thanksgivingness: pilgrim parades, corn-cob killings, and Black Friday stampedes.

It’s for those reasons that Roth’s film could be appropriate viewing for all types of Thanksgivingers, but I’m going to go with the Black Friday angle. Shopping on the day after the holiday isn’t what it used to be (and that’s a good thing!) since the pandemic, with stores pushing their openings back to reasonable times on Friday while also moving toward more appealing online and month-long sales. But there was a day, not long ago, when crazed shoppers would bust down doors and trample other human beings for a 60% off a toaster.

Thanksgiving’s opening scene captures this mayhem, with Roth and his team getting creative with the kills, which include a shopping cart scalping.

If COVID didn’t kill Black Friday, this would’ve done the trick. It’s gross, gruesome, and the best 10 minutes of Eli Roth’s career.

If You’re Home Alone: Kristy (2014)

The holidays can be hard for anyone for any reason, but they’re especially difficult if you have to spend them alone. There are a million reasons why this could happen to you, and none of them are my business! Just know that, thanks to various work conflicts or sicknesses, I’ve spent different Christmases, Thanksgivings, and Easters alone. I know how it feels. Luckily, we have movies to keep us company.

Kristy stars Haley Bennett as Justine, a college student stuck riding out the holiday break alone in her dorm. In a lean and mean less than 80 minutes, she has to fight off a group of killers stalking her around campus. It’s like if The Holdovers got interrupted by The Strangers, even if it’s not quite as good as either of those movies.

It’s the kind of low-budget slasher that might get lost in the mix if it weren’t for the Thanksgiving angle, which gives it a particular annual rewatchability.

(How many people would be watching Don’t Open Till Christmas every year if it weren’t called Don’t Open Till Christmas?)

If You’re Visiting Your New In-Laws: You’re Next (2013)

From this point on, the movies are no longer explicitly Thanksgiving-themed (there are only so many good ones). Instead, we will be using movies that feel autumnal—largely thanks to characters wearing oversized jackets and sweaters in what looks like the chilly night air.

Many folks meet their significant other’s families for the first time around the holidays, which can be stressful enough. It’s many people’s worst nightmare that your boyfriend’s uncle goes on a racist rant or something, but You’re Next argues that having people break into your home and kill everyone is way, way worse.

Luckily for final girl Erin (Sharni Vinson; I wish she made a billion zillion more horror movies instead of finishing in 17th place on a season of Australian Survivor) and unluckily for the masked intruders, she’s the wrong person to mess with.

I feel like this movie was all the rage in 2013, with many people calling it one of the best slashers they had seen in years, but nobody talks about it anymore. It’s still really good!

And guaranteed to have the Dwight Twilley Band song “Looking For The Magic” stuck in your head for weeks.

If You’re in Charge of Dinner: Motel Hell (1980)

If you’ve been in charge of Thanksgiving dinner for any amount of time, you’ve developed a routine. Maybe you prep many of the dishes in advance, or maybe it’s a tradition to run to the grocery store at the last minute because you always forget something. Perhaps you go all out, growing some of the vegetables in your garden, or perhaps you have a signature entree—like John Madden’s world-famous turducken.

Motel Hell’s Farmer Vincent is known for his well-renowned, eponymous smoked meats, which he carefully crafts on the farm behind Motel Hello, the run-down, roadside shack where the “O” on the neon sign has burnt out. The only way to learn his secret recipe is if you’re unlucky enough to end up a part of it. As he explains, “Meat’s meat and man’s gotta eat!”

This 1980 film from director Kevin Conner is the dark-humor bridge between 1974’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and 1986’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, and fits perfectly between those two worlds.

It should be noted, however, that I would save this one for after dinner if you don’t want to ruin your appetite.

If You’re Just Here for the Drinks: VFW (2019)

Did you know that the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is the drunkest day of the year? Everyone’s back in their hometown, and no one wants to actually be home, so they go out. College kids see their old friends, transplants see how much the place they grew up has changed.

Our final pick is a movie that not only takes place at a bar, but specifically at a VFW Post, which reminds me personally of Thanksgiving because I go with my grandfather to his American Legion Post every year. It’s because of those memories that I want to love Joe Begos’ 2019 film VFW.

Unfortunately, I can’t get myself fully there. His impression of Rob Zombie doing an impression of John Carpenter leads him to his own version of Assault on Precinct 13, with grizzled Vietnam vets defending their bar from crazed drug addicts. All of the budget went to the genre favorite headliners (Stephen Lang, William Sadler, Fred Williamson, Martin Kove, and David Patrick Kelly, among others) and gore effects. Apparently, none of it went to properly lighting the frame.

But who cares? At barely 90 minutes, it gets the job done.

It’s here for a good time, not a long time. For many of us, that’s all we can hope the holidays to be.

Written by Patrick J. Regal