History Film / Thanksgiving2023

** [[spoiler:While in the office with Sheriff Newlon, Jessica notices that debris like that which stuck to her clothing in the woods while escaping the Carver's house is also on Newlon's pants leg and boots, and realizes that he's the killer.]]

* AudienceSurrogate: after the Carver kills [[spoiler: Evan on livestream with a meat tenderizer]], several happy emojis fill the screen, alluding to some members of the audience who were waiting to see that asshole get his. Later on, when Jessica uses the same phone to [[spoiler: expose the killer, a glimpse of the screen shows a bunch of shocked and horrified emojis, again alluding to audience members' reactions to the killer's unmasking]].

** Later, Kathleen wakes up while The Carver is "preparing" her for the dinner in his lair, and manages to narrowly avoid him several times during an intense stalk-and-chase sequence, before being [[spoiler: impaled with a pitchfork (after ''just'' escaping the house) and being recaptured, cooked alive in the oven.]]

** Jessica's charm bracelet, which includes a picture of her dead mother and herself as a baby; [[spoiler:in the final confrontation, when Jessica is only armed with a blunderbuss (another Chekhok's Gun, literally) and has lost the musket balls, she uses the bracelet as replacement ammunition]].

* ChristmasCreep: Pretty strongly averted. Thanksgiving is an event in its own right, with stores putting on ads and displays for Thanksgiving foods and the town holding a parade, with not a sign of Christmas overtaking it in sight. This is justified, as Sheriff Newlon says that Thanksgiving is "an institution in this town".

** [[spoiler:Evan kept filming stuff on his phone during the riot, which went viral and wasn't exactly subtle about things. Something John Carver personally takes into mind when filming himself bashing Evan's entire head into mush with a meat tenderizer, down to even lampshading about "No one appreciates subtlety anymore..."]]

* EvenEvilHasStandards: John Carver is a brutal psychopathic killer out to take out those involved with the Black Friday riot. That said, [[spoiler:he doesn't kill Manny's cat after slicing his head off. In fact, [[PetTheDog he even makes sure to feed and pet the little guy before leaving the scene.]]]] [[spoiler:He also makes the effort to only tranquilise those who are not on his kill list but ''are'' in his way, like Yulia's father, Labelle and another officer.]]

* FanDisservice: [[spoiler:A lot of attention is lavished on Kathleen's body, especially her face, legs, and feet... as the killer is prepping her for the main course of his Thanksgiving dinner, and later as she's being roasted alive in the oven.]]

* FinalGirl: [[spoiler:Jessica has all of the hallmarks of this, although several other characters survive, including [[RedHerring Ryan]]]].
* {{Foreshadowing}}: After the essay fiasco, Scuba jokes that Evan might just killed before being suspended for plagiarism. [[spoiler: And that's exactly what happens.]]

* HorrorDoesntSettleForSimpleTuesday: As the trailer shows, it's Thanksgiving and the whole town is decorated for it - including the killer.

* LighterAndSofter: Zig-zagged. The tone of the movie is DarkerAndEdgier than the campy ''Film/{{Grindhouse}}'' trailer invoking a classic slasher film vibe, but it changes or removes some of the more raunchy elements; [[spoiler:the cheerleader on the trampoline gets stabbed in the feet and back instead of the vagina]], and when [[spoiler:Kathleen's roasted, desecrated body is presented like a turkey, it doesn't have stuffing or a meat thermometer sticking out of the asshole like the dead body in the original trailer.]] Also [[spoiler:the killer never humps an actual turkey.]]

** Scuba is not familiar with firearms. As such, when confronted with the killer it takes a while for him to even remember to take it out, and it ends up being useless since [[NotWithTheSafetyOnYouWont he forgets to take the safety off]]. The main characters in general aren't all that good with weapons, since they're teenagers in high school, and even if Jessica has been trained so that she knows how to fire a musket in the climax it takes her a bit to realize it's there and consider it as an option. [[invoked]][[spoiler: [[FridgeBrilliance Which might also be a clue that the Carver is not a civilian]], consider how casually he handles weapons.]]

** [[spoiler:When Jessica is alone with Sheriff Newlon after realizing he's the killer.]]

** Also, while Jessica and friends didn't really like Evan, [[spoiler:they were horrified when the Carver caved his skull in.]]

* GunsDoNotWorkThatWay [=McCarty=] gives Scuba a SIG-Sauer P226 and puts it on the safety so that Scuba doesn't shoot himself by accident. This screws over Scuba later when he has a clear shot to take out the Carver, but forgets to take off the safety, [[spoiler:leading to Yulia's death]]. ''However'', a real P226 doesn't ''have''' a safety; the closest thing it has is a decocker, which only uncocks the hammer and switches the gun to double action [[note]] pulling the trigger cocks and releases the hammer, instead of single action, where the hammer is cocked back manually or by every time the pistol slide moves back [[/note]]. In other words, Scuba should've still been able to fire the gun. Though, it's possible that [=McCarty] gave him one of the single action only variants of the P226, but it's unlikely one of those would appear in a movie armory.

* GodwinsLaw: One of the protesters boycotting [=RightMart=} waves around a sign that says “''Reich''Mart”.

* GunsDoNotWorkThatWay: [=McCarty=] gives Scuba a SIG-Sauer P226 and puts it on the safety so that Scuba doesn't shoot himself by accident. This screws over Scuba later when he has a clear shot to take out the Carver, but forgets to take off the safety, [[spoiler:leading to Yulia's death]]. ''However'', a real P226 doesn't ''have''' a safety; the closest thing it has is a decocker, which only uncocks the hammer and switches the gun to double action [[note]] pulling the trigger cocks and releases the hammer, instead of single action, where the hammer is cocked back manually or by every time the pistol slide moves back [[/note]]. In other words, Scuba should've still been able to fire the gun. Though, it's possible that [=McCarty] gave him one of the single action only variants of the P226, but it's unlikely one of those would appear in a movie armory.

** Jessica's charm bracelet, which includes a picture of her dead mother and herself as a baby; [[spoiler:in the final confrontation, when Jessica is only armed with a musket and has lost the musket balls, she uses the bracelet as replacement ammunition]].

* ChristmasCreep: Pretty strongly averted. Thanksgiving is an event in its own right, with stores putting on ads and displays for Thanksgiving foods and the town holding a parade, with not a sign of Christmas overtaking it in sight. This is justified in the trailer, as a man says that Thanksgiving is "an institution in this town".

* DirtyCoward: Manny, the security guard who bails when the riot begins at [=SmartMart=]. [[spoiler:For all of his bravado at his home, John Carver takes him out pretty easily]].

* GodwinsLaw: One of the protesters boycotting RightMart waves around a sign that says “''Reich''Mart”.

* NeckSnap: The guy watching the cheerleader on the trampoline gets his neck snapped by the killer.

** Unlike other slashers, the Carver takes pains to [[NeverHarmAnInnocent not target innocent people]] (or at least the people he ''doesn’t'' blame for the riot), and when having to deal with people in his way, he uses a tranquilizer gun on them. However, he still manages to cause some unintentional casualties despite his careful planning during the parade scene, because after he throws everyone into a panic after [[spoiler: decapitating the guy in the turkey costume]], the truck with the ''Mayflower'' float ends up non-fatally hitting a street performer on stilts and the driver of the truck [[spoiler: gets killed when the float breaks free of its ties during the crash and the bow skewers him through his head, in front of his ''granddaughters'' no less]].
*** On the tranquilizer gun, the victims don’t stay tranquilized for the same amount of time, which becomes detrimental to the killer’s plans. Jessica, Scuba, and Thomas wake up at the same time, but [[spoiler: Kathleen manages to wake up while she’s getting prepared by the Carver to be put into the oven and nearly escapes]], and [[spoiler: Bobby, who was tranquilized, kidnapped, and dressed to look like the Carver wakes up offscreen and manages to knock out the Carver (who at the time was undisguised as Shieriff Newlon) with a tire iron and escape]].

** After the parade attack, the weapons used by Carver lead to speculation that he has some sort of military background. [[spoiler:It's at least partially correct since Sherriff Newlon would be trained in using gas canisters and flash-bangs for crowd control]].

** Jessica noticing that [[spoiler:Sheriff Newlon]] has the same stickers on [[spoiler:his]] pant cuffs that she got while she was fleeing from the Carver House, meaning [[spoiler:he]] is the Carver.

* WickedStepmother: Kathleen was a realtor who sold the Wrights their home, and is implied to have taken advantage of Mr. Wright's grief over his late wife to marry into the family. She's stated to be a terrible influence on him, having been responsible for pushing him to hold the ill-fated sale on Thanksgiving and getting frustrated at him considering canceling the sale the following year. She also doesn't get along with Jessica, with Bobby comforting the latter by suggesting a quick engagement will hopefully mean a quick divorce. Kathleen is also responsible for the stalled investigation into the riot, deleting the security footage to protect her family from a potential lawsuit.

* Audience surrogate: after the Carver kills [spoiler: Evan on livestream with a meat tenderizer]], several happy emojis fill the screen, alluding to some members of the audience who were waiting to see that asshole get his. Later on, when Jessica uses the same phone to [[spoiler: expose the killer, a glimpse of the screen shows the bunch of shocked and horrified emojis, again alluding to audience members reactions to the killer’s unmasking]].

* FinalGirl: [[spoiler:Jessica has all of the hallmarks of this, although several other characters survive including [[RedHerring Ryan]]]].

** John Carver using a voice-changer to disguise their identity brings to mind the same technique used by the Ghostface killers in the ''Film/{{Scream}}'' series.

%%** Unlike other slashers, the Carver takes pains to not target innocent people (or at least the people he ''doesn’t'' blame for the riot), edit and instead of when having to deal with people in his way, he uses a tranquilizer gun on them. however, Magis to get a few people he’s still mad just cause casualties despite his careful planning during the parade scene, because after he throws everyone into a panic after decapitated the guy in the turkey costume, for the truckTruck with the mayflower float ends up hitting a guy on stilts Non Faidley and the driver of the truck gets killed when the flowed breaks free of us ties and the mast and obscuring him for the back of the head in front of his grand children granddaughters no less
%% *** on the tranquilizer gun, the victims don’t stay tranquilize for the same amount of time which becomes somewhat detrimental to the killers plants. Kathleen mattress to wake up while she’s getting prepared to be put into the oven and nearly escapes, and Bobby, Who is tranquilize, kidnapped, and dressed to look like the carver better just to wake up offscreen and knock the Carver out with a tire iron and escape. Suddenly voiced Godwins law shout out Halloween scream scream for new technology

''Thanksgiving'' is a 2023 slasher movie directed by Creator/EliRoth [[{{Defictionalization}} based upon his]] [[RealTrailerFakeMovie fake trailer]] for the double feature film ''Film/{{Grindhouse}}'', making it the third fake trailer from that movie to be adapted into a full film after ''Film/{{Machete}}'' and ''Film/HoboWithAShotgun''. The film stars Creator/PatrickDempsey, Nell Verlaque, Creator/AddisonRae, Jalen Thomas Brooks, Creator/MiloManheim, and Creator/GinaGershon.

** [[spoiler:Lizzie being the first victim of the killing spree makes sense considering it was her shopping cart that ripped off a part of Amanda's scalp, causing her to bleed out. Naturally, Newlon wanted to take her out first.]]

* ArtisticLicenseLawEnforcement: When Sheriff Newlon fires a ShutUpGunshot upon discovering Amanda's corpse. In real life police officers are explicitly trained to '''never''' fire "warning shots" like this, let alone during a riot where a gunshot would almost certainly make the situation worse. It's possible that seeing Amanda's body and the incredibly high stress of the situation overruled Newlon's training, [[spoiler:especially when we learn that he was having an affair with Amanda and that she was carrying his baby.]]

** [[spoiler:Downplayed with Manny the security guard as well. While he did run away when the Black Friday riot started, and the only other security guard got killed, there wasn't anything he could really do as security was severely understaffed and he might have gotten killed by the mob himself. One could understand why he ran away. That doesn't stop the Carver from targeting and killing him for failing to protect his wife though.]]

* EveryoneHasStandards: Jessica made it clear that she did not like her stepmother Kathleen, [[spoiler:but she was as horrified as everyone else when the Carver serves her cooked corpse.]]

* ArtisticLicenseLawEnforcement: When Sheriff Newlon fires a ShutUpGunshot upon discovering Amanda's corpse. In real life police officers are explicitly trained to '''never''' fire "warning shots" like this, let alone during a riot where a gunshot would almost certainly make the situation worse. It's possible that seeing Amanda's body and the incredibly high stress of the situation overruled Newlon's training. [[spoiler:Especially when we learn that Newlon was having an affair with Amanda and that she was carrying his baby.]]

* EveryoneHasStandards: Jessica made it clear that she did not like her stepmother Kathleen [[spoiler:but she was as horrified as everyone else when the Carver serves her cooked corpse.]]

* FanDisservice: [[spoiler:A lot of attention is lavished on Kathleen's body, especially her face and legs… as the killer is prepping her for the main course of his Thanksgiving dinner, and later as she's being roasted alive in the oven.]]

* GunNut: A somehow positive example with [=McCarty=], the local gun seller. He's kind of loud and a jerk at times (especially if you press his BerserkButton), but he's perfectly willing to offer Jessica and Scuba some of his guns and hidden knives for protection without payment [[spoiler:after Evan and Gaby are kidnapped]]. Later before the parade, [=McCarty=] even gives Jessica a simple-looking ring he says is for good luck, which she thanks him for and takes. [[spoiler:As it turns out, it too has a hidden blade which helps her and Scuba escape from John Carver's binds during his Thanksgiving dinner.]]

* LackOfEmpathy: Kathleen spends the movie being self-absorbed and uncaring of how the riot impacted people including her own stepdaughter. When Thomas agrees to close the store on Thanksgiving she seems more annoyed at ''him'' than the fact that people are being ''murdered.''

** [[spoiler:Amy the cheerleader is explicitly shown to have been kept alive by the Carver for the macabre Thanksgiving scene. The “uncorking” Carver wants to use her for would only work if her heart was still pumping. ]]

** As noted elsewhere on this page, Scuba has a very subdued and heartbreaking reaction to [[spoiler: Yulia's death.]]

* BlackDudeDiesFirst: Zig-zagged. [[spoiler:One of the first deaths in the film is Doug, the Black security guard. However, Scuba, the primary Black character, survives]].

*** [[spoiler: Said guy is also [[FreezeFrameBonus briefly seen to be the other costumer who hit Amanda with his cart, though he's not as focused on as Amanda.]]

** Another victim [[spoiler:is decapitated with an axe during the parade while wearing his turkey outfit no less. He also happened to be shown to be present during the Black Friday Riot through the security camera photos.]]