In 2007, directors Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino took their regular collaborations further (Tarantino acting in both Desperado (1995) and From Dusk Till Dawn (1996); Tarantino writing Dusk, which Rodriguez directed; both directing segments of the 1995 anthology Four Rooms) to combine two solo projects into one glorious double-feature of sex and violence dubbed Grindhouse. Though their individual films — Planet Terror (Rodriguez) and Death Proof (Tarantino) — can be viewed on their own, the most ideal way to experience them is in the official double feature, complete with fake trailers by a cadre of real directors. Two of those trailers were popular enough to result in full features, the first being Rodriquez’s Machete (2010) starring frequent collaborator Danny Trejo (Desperado; Spy Kids) and Eli Roth’s (Hostel) holiday-themed Thanksgiving, which released into theaters Fall 2023. Now, 10 months after an initial physical release, Thanksgiving returns for a second helping with a first-time 4K UHD release in a limited edition steelbook. Said limited edition not only includes the previously released bonus materials, but nearly-50 minutes of new behind-the-scenes materials and a special letter from Roth.
It’s Thanksgiving and the turkey is dressed, the wine is flowing, and, for businessman Thomas Wright (Rick Hoffman), it’s an opportunity to make a profit. Rather than open the doors of his retail shop Right Mart early on Black Friday, he calls in a small team to open up and deal with the teeming masses yearning to save a few dollars and maybe get a free waffle iron on Thanksgiving night. What Wright doesn’t anticipate is how greedy the locals of Plymouth, Massachusetts, are or how the collective juvenile decisions of his daughter Jessica’s (Nell Verlaque) friends would tip those on the edge of rioting into a full stampede killing a few and injuring many. Nor could any of them anticipate how, one year later, someone dressed as a pilgrim and dawning the mask of one John Carver, first mayor of Plymouth, would start picking off those responsible and using them to set a macabre table of revenge.
THANKSGIVING 4K UHD limited edition steelbook packshot. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
With Thanksgiving first coming available at home via digital on January 16th, followed by a Blu-ray and DVD release on January 30th, it’s fairly safe to say that if you enjoyed Roth’s feature-length murderfest, you likely picked it up at the start of the year. Why, then, should you consider a double-dip that feels about as on-the-level of Thomas Wright’s “Thanksbuying”? Let’s get into it.
Working our way outside in, the steelbook is a solid black with a few hints of bronze, creating a visual language that ties the mask of John Carver to the home release. Going further, the front cover, decorated with a dressed turkey with an axe plunged into it and the title colored yellow given a dripping font, is, itself, embossed to look like a fancy holiday invitation. It’s a small detail, but one that suggests some thought was put into the packaging beyond repurposing the prior-released design of The Carver looking down while holding an axe. The back is more minimal as it features the Carver mask post-burning, indicative of a tarnished or broken mind.
The inside is far more minimal with the left side featuring seven smaller Carver masks and the right side (under the discs) having the typical photo of Carver looking down with his axe. Above the Carver image on the right is a two-disc holder with the Blu-ray sitting underneath the 4K UHD. Be advised that contents may get jostled during shipping, so be sure to give the steelbook a soft shake before opening. The review copy of Thanksgiving provided by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment arrived this way, but, luckily, the 4K UHD disc played just fine and had no visible scratches. On the left side of the case, though, is a note written by Roth that teases the 4K UHD presentation, as well as the two new behind-the-scenes featurettes titled “Carve Diem” and “Giving Shanks.”
The included letter from writer/director Eli Roth within the THANKSGIVING 4K UHD limited edition steelbook. Photo credit: Douglas Davidson.
Be advised that the bonus features on the Blu-ray edition are exactly the same as the January release. I can’t speak to whether the disc is reskinned (on-disc or in menu presentation) as no prior home release was reviewed, but just be aware of this should you already have a copy. The 4K UHD edition only includes the film and the two new featurettes, which is the bait to lure in potential purchasers, the steelbook design just being the gravy or garnish. Don’t be bummed that only the 4K UHD edition includes the new features because this is a massive bonus for cinephiles looking to have the best possible home-viewing presentation. Viewed on a 63 inch Sony 4K UHD television and through a 5.1 Yamaha surround sound system, Thanksgiving looks and sounds great, or terrible, depending on how you respond to the various slices, dices, stabs, and squelches. Even being prepped by the new featurettes as to how some of the kills go down, there are some things this reviewer can’t stomach to see, which left my ears vulnerable to the gnarly sound design and foley work. Added to this, the film itself holds fairly strongly around a bitrate of 70-80 Mbps, indicative of a fairly midrange-to-high presentation (40 Mbps being close to standard HD and 128 being the maximum bitrate) that one can see and hear… whether they like it or not. Where recent 4K UHDs reviewed by EoM have been on the lower end, what helps Thanksgiving avoid this particular trap is that that the 4K UHD disc *only* includes the two new featurettes and that they themselves are fairly low quality by design.
At the start of “Carve Diem,” the first of the two “Behead-the-Scenes” featurettes, we’re shown a title card that explains how the central cast of kids were given their own digital video (DV) camera to use throughout filming. This title card is presented in a VHS-style/old school DV visual flair with tracking numbers, tracking bars, a blue screen, and other signifiers to frame the upcoming presentation as found footage. Evidentially, the cameras were used throughout the 1999-2000 production period and what we see is a mix of behind-the-scenes hijinks, a shift in on-set perspectives (sometimes final cut scenes are shown for it to then cut to the DV material to see what happened outside of frame or after cut is called), and even after-hours silliness. Both featurettes run over 20 minutes and capture the sort of camp-like atmosphere around making Roth’s film. It’s a great deal of fun, especially as we get to see discussion around the testing of the various kill sequences. Though they run shy of 50 minutes, therefore taking up a good amount of data space on the 4K UHD disc, their presentation isn’t of that same quality, which enables the final film to get the lion’s share of space. So, not only so we get new bonus materials to explore, we get them in a style in-line with the grindhouse film and without reducing the on-disc presentation. Win-win.
One can’t imagine the excitement of being able to take a parody trailer created to maintain the grindhouse illusion and actually turning it into a full-fledged feature. Created by co-writer Jeff Rendell and Roth, both also responsible for the trailer, Thanksgiving goes hard, though not as hard as Planet Terror in the gore department, but hard enough to unsettle stomachs and inspire eye aversion. Not only that, but the mystery of The Carver is enough to keep one guessing throughout as Roth and Rendell create a trail of side dishes that potentially lead to any of several potentially murderous individuals. “Don’t trust anyone,” indeed. Is there enough here for repeat viewings? That one’s definitely up to individual as there’s little here that cultivates a second helping for myself, but that’s due to certain sensitives that other grindhouse tales Planet Terror or Machete don’t activate. But for those who dig on Roth’s brand of mayhem and are looking for something to ride the line between October and November, this is an easy recommendation to make due to smart steelbook design, the fun as hell bonus features, and the stellar on-disc presentation. Sony has been doing re-releases of several of their limited edition steelbooks in recent months, so don’t feel pressured to snag this immediately, especially with the second tale rumored to release next year in 2025, there may be another edition releasing around then, too.
Keep your options open, your appetite whet, and your friends close.
Thanksgiving Special Features:
4K UHD
- Feature presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision, as approved by director Eli Roth
- English Dolby Atmos + English 5.1
- *NEW* Two (2) Behead-the-Scenes Featurettes: Carve Diem (24:52) and Giving Shanks (22:28)
- Theatrical Trailer
Blu-ray Legacy Features
- Feature presented in high definition
- English 5.1
- Commentary with Eli Roth and Jeff Rendell
- Deleted & Extended Scenes
- Outtakes
- Massachusetts Movies: Eli & Jeff’s Early Films
- Behind the Screams
- Gore Galore
Available on 4K UHD limited edition steelbook October 15th, 2024.
For more information, head to the official Sony Pictures Thanksgiving webpage.
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Categories: Films To Watch, Home Release, Recommendation
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