Summary

Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving delivers creative and disturbing death sequences, satisfying slasher movie fans without bombarding them with excessive gore. John Carver emerges as a new killer, targeting the culprits of a tragic event and leaving no leftovers in his killing spree. The goriest kill involves a family man whose head is impaled on a wooden float during what should have been a peaceful parade.

Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving finally arrives in theaters, so as the reviews come pouring in, it’s time to address the elephant in the room: the kills. No slasher would be complete without creative and disturbing death sequences, and Thanksgiving has plenty to offer. Before going back for seconds, it’s important to get your fill, but Eli Roth ensures that no moviegoer leaves unsatisfied. Even in the first 20 minutes, as a stampede of shoppers invades the local RightMart, we are stricken by tragedy as the true selfishness of human nature shines through. This event triggers a domino effect of killings, setting the stage for horror’s newest killer, John Carver.

WARNING: Spoilers for Thanksgiving to follow.

Roth manages to cram a lot of deaths into a short amount of time, but the kills are so evenly spaced out that you won’t feel bombarded by the gore. After the RightMart incident, the citizens of Plymouth, Massachusetts, are on high alert as a new killer emerges to target the red-handed culprits of that fateful night. There is an abundance of departures throughout, some not so gory as others, but John Carver certainly leaves no leftovers. From classic neck-snaps to decapitations and bisections, Thanksgiving doesn’t pull any punches. Let’s look at the goriest kill in Roth’s latest slasher, the runner-up, and an honorable mention.

Talk About a Killer Headache
Thanksgiving Release Date November 17, 2023 Director Eli Roth Cast Rick Hoffman, Gina Gershon, Patrick Dempsey, Milo Manheim, Addison Rae, Nell Verlaque Main Genre Horror
Read Our Review

The Plymouth County Police Department finds themselves at a stand-still as John Carver’s killing spree continues, and he remains at large. Following the death of a diner waitress, a security guard, and three of their friends, high schoolers Jessica and Scuba formulate a plan with Sheriff Newlon to catch John Carver once and for all.

On the day of the Thanksgiving parade, the Plymouth police plot to lure Carver into a false sense of security by presenting the perfect opportunity to strike. With everyone at the parade, the school would be vacant, presenting the perfect opportunity to strike. Much to the department’s surprise, John Carver chooses to act in broad daylight, switching his typical pilgrim outfit for that of a clown.

After beheading the high schooler leading the parade as a turkey mascot, John Carver sabotages the makeshift float-boats, scattering the crowd in the process. During the commotion, the bow of the float-boat plunges into a family’s car, penetrating the driver’s head and face. Although it isn’t directly a John Carver kill, it’s undoubtedly the goriest demise in the whole movie. The aftermath is hard to stomach, even for seasoned gore veterans. When we cut back to the driver, his head is impaled in the wood with blood squirting out of every orifice in his skull, all while his nose hangs on his face by a thread of flesh. And yes, it’s even worse than it sounds.

Kudos to the practical effects team because the whole sequence looks so believable. There isn’t a moment where the set pieces look fake, nor does the kill look anatomically incorrect. It’s very believable that someone’s face could look like that following such a specific, Final Destination-esque death.

Yulia’s Death Was a Close Second
TriStar Pictures

Our other choice, if not for that nameless family man (RIP), would be Yulia, Scuba’s girlfriend. We don’t see much of Yulia throughout besides the scenes where she’s hanging off Scuba’s arm. For the most part, from what little backstory we can establish, Yulia’s father is a no-nonsense Russian who disapproves of her Black boyfriend and lifestyle choices. He likely believes that Yulia hangs around with the wrong crowd, so he’s especially strict and over-protective. In one scene, John Carver invades Yulia’s home, tranquilizes her father, then sneaks upstairs to where she’s grooming herself.

Related: Why Eli Roth Needs Thanksgiving to Be a Hit

If you remember the scene from the trailer where a blonde girl gets her eardrums stabbed with corncob holders, that’s Yulia. But that doesn’t instantly kill her, as the metal isn’t long enough to penetrate her brain. The ordeal merely renders her deaf. As she crawls downstairs, fearing for her life with John Carver hot on her tail, Jessica and Scuba enter in the nick of time. However, after an altercation with John Carver, Yulia is pushed into a rotating table saw and sliced open from her palm to her sternum, up through her midriff. Her whole body is torn open as her intestines spill out onto the floor.

This is another win for practical effects, especially as Yulia’s death is one of the hardest to stomach. If it weren’t for the imagery of that man’s half-mangled face seared into our brains, Yulia would have taken home the gold for the best kill. At least John Carver didn’t kill the cat. What a stand-up guy.

Additionally, an honorable mention goes to the diner waitress who gets bisected by a dumpster. What we thought would be a simple act of vehicular manslaughter turned into something much, much worse. And then hanging her lower half on the RightMart sign? Come on, John. That’s disgusting.

Thanksgiving is available in theaters everywhere.