Among the new releases on Netflix this week, there is the horror slasher “Thanksgiving,” starring Patrick Dempsey and Addison Rae. The film, which was originally released in 2023, is now the second most watched movie on the platform in the US, according to FlixPatrol (as Feb. 18th).
The movie could dethrone “Players,” from the number 1 spot. The romantic-comedy (starring Gina Rodriguez, Tom Ellis and Damon Wayans Jr.) achieved the top spot with only a day on the platform, after arriving on Valentine’s Day.
While its global reign is still intact, “Thanksgiving” has become a hit on the platform. The movie was directed by Eli Roth, who is known for other films in the genre such as Hostel: Part II (2007) and The Green Inferno (2013).
‘Thanksgiving,’ one of the best slasher of 2023
‘Thanksgiving’ is set in the quiet town of Plymouth, Massachusetts, in which the people are terrorized by a Thanksgiving-inspired killer wearing a ghoulish John Carver mask. Apart from Dempsey and Rae, the movie stars Milo Manheim, Jalen Thomas Brooks, Nell Verlaque, Rick Hoffman, and Gina Gershon.
The movie was a success among critics and audiences alike. At the global box office, it grossed a little over $46 million against a budget of $15 million. It also received rave reviews, especially praising the tone of the movie, which effectively combined humor and horror.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 84% of 147 critics’ reviews are positive. Owen Gleiberman of Variety wrote “Thanksgiving follows the rules of the slasher genre, but it’s got a more charged and entertainingly hyperbolic atmosphere than these movies used to have”
Meanwhile, Esther Zuckerman of GQ said that “Thanksgiving, for the most part, is way more fun than it needs to be. Dempsey—the Sexiest Man Alive, according to People—is having a great time, and newcomer Verlaque makes for a good final girl, with the right mix of earnestness and in-on-the-joke winks.”
You can stream Thanksgiving on Netflix.
