Director – Erick Lorinc (I Am the Devil)
Starring – Samantha Ferrand (Helter Skelter: An American Myth, The Dark Priests of Sagamuth), Laura Finley, and Matthew McClure
Release Date – 2020
Rating – 2/5
Thanksgiving is an often overlooked holiday. Most chain stores jump from Halloween to Christmas with their displays and advertising while most movies focus on either Halloween or Christmas as the main theme if they are holiday oriented. Thanksgiving doesn’t really have that many horror films to enjoy. Sure, we have Blood Rage, Blood Freak and it’s remake, and both Thankskilling films but that is not nearly as many as Halloween and Christmas.
A few weeks ago Scream Team Releasing announced their newest blu release which was 2020’s The Last Thanksigiving from director Erick Lorinc. I needed it for my collection and jumped on it. It arrived the day before Thanksgiving and I was able to give it a spin.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a diner that is open during Thanksgiving. While most of the employees are bitching about working the holiday there is a family who seeks out anyone who is not celebrating Thanksgiving. They then kill and eat them which is a family tradition that was started back when the pilgrims first celebrated Thanksgiving with the Native Americans. **Spoiler Alert**
I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I was really excited to check this one out. I’m a sucker for holiday themed horror flicks and seeing that Thanksgiving is lacking I was excited to add another film to my seasonal rotation. However, The Last Thanksgiving just didn’t work for me. It had an interesting premise but the build and pacing was just all over the place. It was a solid premise but poor execution.
The acting in this one is decent at times but some of the scenes are just painfully awkward. I’ve seen films with absolutely no budgets shot in someone’s backyard and I’ve seen movies with million dollar budgets. Money doesn’t always equal quality. Some of my favorite films had no budget and some of the best acting I’ve ever seen. Budget has nothing to do with the casting but this one has a mostly inexperienced cast which did create some level of awkwardness and inconsistencies. Also, the characters are poorly written. Most of the characters in the film consists of characters that the viewer will not like. They are unlikable assholes or douchebags that you just want to watch die. However, they are the film’s protagonists so you know it won’t happen.
The story for this one is a very interesting premise but the film itself feels rushed and not fully developed. At it’s heart it’s a home invasion inspired film with the home scenario switched to a diner. The cannibal pilgrim portion was actually pretty fun and really fit the Thanksgiving theme. With that being said, the film’s pacing is just all wrong. Most of the film moves from a dull dialogued scenes that moves into a little bit of action before it is abruptly cut short as the film transitions to the next scene. Also, the film struggles with building tension and atmosphere. The movie jumps from the diner scene to the house scene but both scenes just unfold with no tension or drama. We get the cast screaming, crying, and so on but it doesn’t help set the scene at all.
Finally, this film’s best quality is the bloody death scenes. The film holds nothing back when it comes to the blood and gore. The practical effects are very impressive and really caught me off guard. Overall, The Last Thanksgiving just wasn’t for me. The acting didn’t really mesh well with the film and the story was a little too forced and uneven to really work like it should have. The film does have some amazing death scenes but they couldn’t save the film. This is one I would recommend skipping.
