Screen Reviews
Thankskilling

Thankskilling

directed by Jordan Downey

starring Chuck Lamb, Wanda Lust, General Bastard, Lance Predmore, Ryan Francis

MVD video

Thankskilling

How many times has this happened to you? The family is sitting around after a huge Thanksgiving meal trying to figure out why there are no horror movies appropriate to the season. Sure, there’s Blood Freak, where a man turns into a homicidal turkey monster after smoking pot, but after a family vote, it is decided that other than the turkey monster, Blood Freak never actually addresses the holiday.

Now that Thankskilling is finally out on DVD, your family’s Thanksgiving is saved.

Made by two college roommates for about $3,500, Thankskilling is the story of a group of friends menaced by an ancient killer turkey… monster or ghost or spirit or something over Thanksgiving break. Looking better than you’d imagine a $3,500 movie would look, Thankskilling proudly revels in ridiculousness, gore, and tastelessness, feeling exactly like the movie you and your college friends would have made if you had ever actually put forth some effort beyond coming up with the title.

Opening with a close-up of a topless Pilgrim woman, Thankskilling sets up its gleefully trashy tone and never lets up. You’ve got a group of friends consisting of a big, fat party animal guy, a jock, a nerd, a good girl, and a slut who somehow end up in the woods on the anniversary of the Native-American-conjured, evil (and foul mouthed) turkey’s birth. The gore effects are funny and fairly gruesome (Except for the over-reliance on CGI blood. Wouldn’t Karo and food coloring be cheaper and more effective?), and the movie goes for laughs at every opportunity, whether through the repetition of the same joke at least three times, the fact that nobody recognizes the turkey in disguise, or the genuine wit displayed in much of the dialogue. However many stars Thankskilling deserves, it gets an extra two for the scene of the nerd lamenting over the dead party animal, complete with flashbacks and a song called, “My Dead Best Friend.” And any movie that ends with “To be continued… IN SPACE!” is worth a look.

Plus, the whole thing is over in a little over an hour, so it’s not like you’ve wasted your valuable post-Thanksgiving time. With a title like Thankskilling, you’ve probably already decided whether you’re going to watch this or not already. Hopefully it will be a new addition to your family’s holiday traditions.

Thankskilling: http://thankskillingmovie.com


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