Thanksgiving

Directed by Eli Roth, Thanksgiving follows a group of bland teenagers, including Nell Verlaque’s Jessica and Addison Rae’s Gabby, as they’re stalked by a masked killer called the Carver. There’s little doubt, ultimately, that Thanksgiving fares best in its promising pre-credits prologue, as the picture kicks off with a brutal, funny sequence that effectively (and completely) captures the viewer’s interest and attention – which ensures that the picture’s subsequent transformation into a generic, hit-and-miss slasher is especially disappointing. And while Roth, armed with Jeff Rendell’s screenplay, does a strong job of peppering the proceedings with compelling kills and offbeat asides, including an unexpectedly hilarious bit wherein the killer feeds a victim’s cat, Thanksgiving‘s overall impact is dulled considerably by an almost total absence of engaging, ingratiating central characters (ie they’re all just so interchangeable). By the time the admittedly decent climax rolls around, Thanksgiving has cemented its place as a passable endeavor that generally does feel like it should be much, much better.

**1/2 out of ****