You'd think Halloween would be the holiday that the lion's share of holiday-themed horror movies would center around. But that would have to be Christmas, which has inspired the likes of classics such as "Black Christmas," "Silent Night, Deadly Night," "Gremlins," "The Nightmare Before Christmas," the incredible "Tales From The Crypt" segment "And All Through The House," and so many more.
Maybe it's because Christmas is supposed to represent the pinnacle of goodness and charity that mucking it all up with blood, guts, and terror is just too perverse to resist. But of all the other holidays on the calendar, Thanksgiving gets my vote for the most untapped potential, horror-wise. Pilgrims? Unseasoned food? Family coming to my house? Wake me up when the nightmare is over.
While there has been a solid assortment of Thanksgiving-themed shockers over the years, from "Kristy" to "Séance" to the delightfully campy "Into The Dark" film "Pilgrim," there's still something left to be desired. Much like the feeling that Thanksgiving dinner inspires. Well, hats off to Eli Roth, because he's set to give the Thanksgiving horror problem his college try.
According to Deadline, Roth is planning to bring the fake trailer he made for Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's "Grindhouse" to full, dazzling life as a feature film. And scream king Patrick Dempsey, of "The Stuff" and "Scream 3" fame (okay, you probably know him from "Grey's Anatomy") is in talks to star.
A Pilgrim Ruined My Life
As part of the release of Tarantino and Rodriguez's homage to exploitation cinema, "Grindhouse" rolled into theaters complete with a package of trailers for fake films that were shown before the feature presentation. Two of them have already been made into real films — Jason Eisener's "Hobo With A Shotgun," and Rodriguez's "Machete Kills," which was made right on the heels of "Grindhouse." It took Roth a hot minute, but "Thanksgiving" finally appears (almost) ready for its close-up.
Little is known about Roth's plans for the film, but if his mock trailer is any indication, we're in for a real gore-fest (with a special side of camp). In the trailer, a knife-wielding maniac in a pilgrim costume pursues his victims as they cavort around at a makeout point, walk the Macy's parade, and carve up turkeys. After every kill a chilling voiceover intones things like, "This year, there will be no leftovers."
Roth's recent directorial output isn't everyone's favorite, but his passion for genre cinema conveyed through projects like "Eli Roth's History of Horror" and "Eli Roth Presents: A Ghost Ruined My Life" is as admirable as it is infectious. And his turn in "Scream 3" alone proved that Patrick Dempsey's got the chops. Getting to play a kind of menacing slasher would be a fascinating departure from the McDreamy mold that Dempsey generally hews quite close to. Spyglass Media is producing "Thanksgiving," and they haven't given the official confirmation that Dempsey will anchor the cast — at least, not yet.
We'll keep you updated on any further news regarding "Thanksgiving," but until then, Roth's original and extremely NSFW trailer from "Grindhouse" is available to stream.
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The post Eli Roth's Thanksgiving Is Becoming a Real Movie, Patrick Dempsey in Talks to Star appeared first on /Film.