Thanksgiving horror movies may be few and far between, but the ones that are out there are truly something. It makes sense that Thanksgiving would be an oft-forgotten holiday in the horror world [1] — it's a strictly American holiday that's supposed to be about giving thanks, which doesn't exactly lend itself to ghosts and gore. That hasn't stopped some filmmakers from using this food-filled holiday as the centrepiece for their thrillers, though.
The Thanksgiving horror films here mostly just use the November holiday as the backdrop for the story rather than as a central piece of the film, but a few of them take the holiday head on. Take Black Friday, for example, a zombie film coming out this month. The whole premise is about the biggest shopping day of the year — the day after Thanksgiving. It's already a scary day for store employees dealing with tons of avid shoppers, which makes it the perfect storyline for a horror movie.
Most of these films are lesser-known indie movies or ones that are a few decades old, giving them even creepier vibes thanks to their low budgets and vintage filming techniques. Nothing says scary quite like a lack of CGI and prop blood. Some of them can be found in full on YouTube, but others can be viewed on a variety of streaming services. While these Thanksgiving horror movies may not be optimal viewing with the family on Turkey Day, they could perhaps be a bit of fun on a cosy night in during Thanksgiving week to cut through any meal-prep stress. We know how much work goes into putting together a Thanksgiving meal [2] to feed the family, and a movie might be just what you need as a distraction [3] before the big day. Tuck in, because these are the 15 Thanksgiving horror movies you need to watch right now.
Home Sweet Home
Slasher film Home Sweet Home, directed by Nettie Peña, was made in the early 1980s and has all the trappings of a vintage horror movie. Escaped mental patient Jay Jones (Jake Steinfeld) — who was locked up for killing his parents — shows up at a Thanksgiving gathering and immediately wreaks havoc. He cuts the power to the house before offing the homeowner and then cutting the phone lines, essentially isolating the guests from any help they could possibly call. As the guests sit down to enjoy what they think will be Thanksgiving dinner, Jay enters and starts picking them off one by one. Will anyone survive?
Black Friday
This year's Black Friday takes the biggest shopping day of the year and exposes it for all its horrors. OK, so maybe it turns it into a zombie attack, but the terrifying hordes of shoppers who descend upon stores on the day after Thanksgiving are no doubt horrifying for store employees. In this movie, the employees at a toy store have to defend themselves against zombie shoppers who are infiltrating the store on this chaotic shopping holiday. The movie, which will be released ahead of this year's Black Friday, might just make you rethink setting out for your own shopping trip after Turkey Day.
The Devastator
The Devastator — sometimes referred to as Hostile Takeover — is based on the book Office Party by Michael A. Gilbert. In the story, an accountant named Eugene (David Warner) takes his coworkers and boss hostage while they're all working overtime on Thanksgiving. In the tense film from the 1980s, the police surround the building to try to talk Eugene down, but he seemingly doesn't want to make any deals. In fact, he wants nothing at all out of this, because at this point, he has nothing to lose. He's tired of the way he's been treated, and this Thanksgiving is the last time he's willing to put up with it.
Kristy
College student Justine (Haley Bennett) can't afford to fly home for Thanksgiving, so she stays on her college campus in this 2014 film. Over the break, she finds a girl named Violet (Ashley Greene [4]) in her room with a knife, and when she tries to escape, she quickly finds out that Violet isn't operating alone. She's part of a cult, out to kill the "Kristys" of the world — seemingly perfect, God-fearing women. Justine spends a panicked night trying to escape the killers, engageing in violence of her own while watching some of her friends get killed. It's when she goes after Violet herself that it all comes to a head.
The Oath
The Oath, starring Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinholtz, definitely leans more toward thriller than horror, but some of the concepts of this film in modern America are definitely horrifying. In this movie that takes place in an alternate universe of the US, people are required to sign an oath pledging their allegiance to the country by Black Friday. The film delves into opposing political views and what a world would be like if requirements like this were set out by a tyrannical leader. It also shows an extreme view of what political disagreements could look like just within a family — so like we said: horrifying!
Escape Room
During her school's Thanksgiving break, Zoey (Taylor Russell) discovers an intricately designed puzzle cube. Easily solving it, Zoey then enters an escape room — but this isn't like the escape rooms you play with a group of friends. This game, which Zoey plays with a bunch of strangers, quickly turns deadly. As each player gets picked off, those remaining realise it isn't about luck but about skill. It turns out there's a game master behind it all, and Zoey is set on taking him out. But what happens if the game master isn't actually the source of all this evil?
Blood Rage
Twins Todd and Terry are at a drive-in movie when they find their mom locked in a passionate makeout session with a man they don't know. Terry explodes and kills a teen in a nearby car out of rage — but then pins the whole thing on Todd. Todd's locked up in an asylum while Terry goes about his adolescent life. Ten years later on Thanksgiving Day, Todd escapes the asylum and Terry starts to break down again, going after his mom's current partner. All hell breaks loose when the two of them are on their own murderous rampages.
ThanksKilling
Horror comedy ThanksKilling is crass, gory, and very high camp. It starts at the very first Thanksgiving in 1621, where a Pilgrim is killed by a turkey wielding a tomahawk. The movie then jumps to modern time, to a group of teens who end up stranded outside when their car breaks down. They start discussing native urban legends, including those related to Thanksgiving. Supposedly a demon turkey comes around every 505 years to unleash its evils onto people who have settled on native lands. This year, though, he shows up early and just goes to town killing everyone who crosses his path.
ThanksKilling 3
After you finish ThanksKilling, head on over to ThanksKilling 3 . . . no, there isn't a ThanksKilling 2. The evil turkey — named Turkie — is back in action and carving up everyone in his path to find the last existing copy of ThanksKilling 2. If it sounds absurd, it's because it is. This movie is primarily run by puppets, which actually makes it even scarier than if it were humans. Turkie takes out a bunch of unsuspecting people puppets while wielding his chainsaw as a weapon, spewing blood just about everywhere. The 2012 movie is the perfectly gruesome follow-up to the original.
Into the Dark: Pilgrim
As part of Hulu's Into the Dark series, Pilgrim is a creepy look at historical reenactors gone awry. Spoiled housewife Anna (Courtney Henggeler) decides that this Thanksgiving, she's going to hire a bunch of people to cosplay as Pilgrims in order to re-create the first Thanksgiving — but in her home for her family. However, the "Pilgrims" show up way too early and tell Anna that they're going to immerse her family in Pilgrim ways. Things quickly devolve as the Pilgrims act stranger and the concept of what Thanksgiving actually is starts to blur. It goes beyond just psychological thriller, though, when things start to get seriously bloody.
Ghost Note
Thanksgiving gets turned on its head when a killer spirit of a blues musician is unleashed. While on the loose, he terrorizes everyone he encounters — most notably some young sweethearts who are totally unsuspecting victims. Ghost Note — which is a musical note with no sound, common in blues — is a ghost story at its core with enough of an indie vibe to be just this side of creepy. You'll be on the edge of your seat wondering if this terrifying ghost will be recaptured and banished before it's too late or if he will kill again.
Séance
It's Thanksgiving, but a group of college students have stayed behind in their dorm. To pass the time, they hold a seance together in an effort to get rid of what they believe to be a ghost of a young girl. However, the ritual goes horribly wrong when they accidentally bring back the little girl's killer. Bad things start to happen over the next couple days of Thanksgiving weekend for these students, and they have no one to turn to for help. The students are left wondering if they should hold another seance to correct what they've done or if they'll eventually succumb to whatever evil they've unleashed.
Boogeyman
When he was a child, Tim (Barry Watson) saw the Boogeyman take his dad, making him deathly afraid of closets — where the Boogeyman lives — and the creepy figure himself. When he grows up, Tim goes on a Thanksgiving trip with his girlfriend and has a vision that his mom wants him to come home. However, it turns out, his mom is dead. At the advice of his psychiatrist, Tim returns to his childhood home to confront his fears, only to be met by the Boogeyman. He can't seem to do anything to escape the Boogeyman, who keeps coming after him and everyone else.
Intensity
Intensity is actually a made-for-TV thriller miniseries based on the Dean Koontz novel of the same name. Chyna (Molly Parker) goes to a friend's house for Thanksgiving, only to find serial killer Edgler Vess (John C. McGinley) there. He offs everyone but Chyna, who escapes. She learns, though, that Edgler has a teen girl held captive, and she wants to rescue her. The two play a game of cat and mouse, with Edgler leaving several bodies in his wake. Chyna reaches the young girl and makes every effort to save her, but Edgler won't make it easy on her. He's determined to torture the two of them, but Chyna is hellbent on defeating the killer.
Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County
This found-footage TV movie, shot documentary style, tells the story of what happened when one family was visited by aliens during their Thanksgiving dinner. The family in question stumble upon a UFO in the woods near their house and are confronted by extraterrestrial beings. Though they try to flee, they are, of course, chased. The nauseatingly haunting footage is spliced with modern commentary by alien experts as the story goes on. Viewers follow the family through the alien attack, with the camera in tow. It comes to a head with a showdown between humans and aliens, and not everyone's going to make it out alive.
