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 a holiday that hasn’t been forgotten in the horror world – it’s an American holiday that should be about giving thanks, which isn’t necessarily appropriate for ghosts and gore. That hasn’t stopped some filmmakers from using this food-filled holiday as a central location for their thrillers, however.
The Thanksgiving horror movies here usually just use the November holiday as a backdrop for the story rather than the main piece of the film, but some of them bring the holiday to life. Take “Black Friday”, for example, a zombie movie that came out in November 2021. 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 eager customers, which makes it the perfect story for a horror movie. Then there’s “Into the Dark: Pilgrim,” which follows a Thanksgiving-themed historical retelling that goes terribly wrong.
Most of these films are lesser-known indie films or ones that are a few decades old, giving them a grittier vibe thanks to their low budgets and old-fashioned filming techniques – after all, nothing says scary like a lack of CGI and prop blood. Some of them can be found in their entirety on YouTube, while others can be viewed on various streaming services. While these Thanksgiving horror movies may not be the family favorite on Turkey Day, they might be a little fun on a quiet night during Thanksgiving week to get over any meal prep stress. We know how much work it is to put together a Thanksgiving meal to feed the family, and a movie could be just what you need as a distraction before the big day. Tuck in, because these are the 13 horror Thanksgiving movies you need to watch right now.
