Have you been simmering in your own juices waiting for Eli Roth’s fake Grindhouse trailer Thanksgiving (2007) to become a family-size feature film? Well, <pop!> the turkey’s done! And, boy, are we grateful for that.
Yup, 16 years after Roth whetted our appetites with a gory, grainy, taste of a holiday-themed-slasher-movie satire, it’s finally ready to serve. Save the date—Friday, November 17—but maybe don’t bring one.
Here’s how to watch Thanksgiving in theaters (and eventually on streaming services), plus trailers (O.G. fake and brand-new official). Also, we’ll tell you where to play the Survive Thanksgiving video game.
What is Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving?
Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving is a horror movie based on one of six fake movie trailers in Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s 2007 double-feature Grindhouse.
Here’s the official Thanksgiving synopsis from Sony Pictures:
“After a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, a mysterious Thanksgiving-inspired killer terrorizes Plymouth, Massachusetts—the birthplace of the holiday. Picking off residents one by one, what begins as random revenge killings are soon revealed to be part of a larger, sinister holiday plan. Will the town uncover the killer and survive the holidays . . . or become guests at his twisted holiday dinner table?”
Thanksgiving stars Patrick Dempsey (Grey’s Anatomy), Addison Rae (He’s All That), Milo Manheim (Zombies), Rick Hoffman (Suits), and Gina Gershon (Showgirls). Roth (Cabin Fever, The Green Inferno) directs from a script by Jeff Rendell, based on their story.
Pro tip: Have you done all of your Thanksgiving gross-ery shopping? Check out our guides to the Best Cannibal Movies—with Meal-Pairing Suggestions! and The 11 Nastiest Movies on Tubi.
How to watch Thanksgiving (2023)
Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving is a theatrical release, so you’ll have to actually leave the house to watch the film. We’re cool with that ‘cause it’s more fun to watch grindhouse horror movies in a large group. Thanksgiving’s official release date is Friday, November 17, but Google already lists showtimes in our area for Thursday, November 16.
If you wanna avoid theaters, the next section has our thoughts on when Thanksgiving will come to streaming services.
What is the Thanksgiving streaming release date?
Thanksgiving will likely stream on Netflix, which has a pay-one window deal with Sony Pictures/Columbia Tristar. The pay-one window starts about four months after a film’s theatrical run. Based on that and Thanksgiving’s theatrical release date (Nov. 17), the streaming service could get the movie by mid-April.
You might, however, get lucky. Since it’s the holiday season and many of us will be busy, Thanksgiving is a juicy candidate for ultra-convenient (but expensive) early-access premium video-on-demand (PVOD) rental action. So Thanksgiving could be available to rent from Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Google Play Movies, Redbox, and VUDU sooner than we think.
Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving trailer (2023)
We can’t serve you the Thanksgiving fake trailer from 2007’s Grindhouse here—it’s messy. (Think of it as the slasher movie equivalent of the First Thanksgiving, with wholesale butchery instead of colonialism. Or watch it on YouTube.) For now, snack on the Thanksgiving (2023) trailer. We hope the full spread is a juicy, deep-fried turduck-human, and it’ll make us puke in our popcorn. Save room for pie!
Where to play the Survive Thanksgiving video game
Looking to kill time? The Thanksgiving official website has a free third-person desktop video game called Survive Thanksgiving. It’s playable in 2D via your web browser—or in VR—and, in it, you can create an avatar, dodge villain John Carver, and buy real-world Thanksgiving merch.
