Thanksgiving: One Killer Theory May Explain The Film's Most Baffling Mystery
Director Eli Roth's film "Thanksgiving" offers up plenty of chills and gore. After a deadly Black Friday sale based on a real-life tragedy, a killer donning a pilgrim outfit of John Carver starts taking out citizens of Plymouth, Massachusetts, presenting a whodunnit mystery where audiences have several suspects of who the killer could be. In the end, the killer turns out to be Sheriff Eric Newlon (Patrick Dempsey), the otherwise seemingly virtuous law enforcement officer who sought vengeance after his secret lover, Amanda (Gina Gershon), was killed at said Black Friday event.
It's a serviceable twist, but many fans couldn't help but feel short-changed. This has led to the formation of a "Thanksgiving" fan theory that speculates there were actually two killers the whole time, in the same vein as "Scream." On a Reddit discussion thread, many people brought up the idea of there being two killers and even presented evidence in the movie to suggest that was the case. For instance, u/goodlucktothenextone pointed out, "I thought there were 2 killers when Carver was showing them a video of Gabby tied up at the table and had Yulia by the throat. I swear I saw the video move around."
Some even believe the idea of two killers could be explored in a possible sequel, like u/Karkenna, who wrote, "I'm definitely on the side of there's more than one killer and they are saving it for the sequel. Because why did Newlon fire his gun multiple times (at nothing, I guess?) and let Bobby live to help Jessica get away?" It doesn't quite add up that Newlon could carry out his police duties and the killings, so a sequel may be necessary to clear all this up.
Eli Roth even compared Thanksgiving to Scream
Something that made "Scream" stand apart from its slasher contemporaries was the reveal that there are two killers all along. In an interview with SFX magazine, director Eli Roth said he wanted to make something akin to that film. "We had such high standards and high expectations for the movie," he said. "We wanted to make a great modern slasher film. I remember the first time I saw 'Scream' in the theatre and you just go, 'Holy s***. That was amazing!' That's what I want, to do that for the next generation." With "Scream" as a clear inspiration, it seems even more plausible there could've been two killers the whole time.
The "Thanksgiving" fan theory has taken off, with most people assuming there were two throughout the story even before the Sheriff Newlon reveal. For instance, u/Cosmokram3r1 speculated on their thought process, positing, "I'm terrible at figuring out killers I thought it was her boyfriend and ex-boyfriend working together." Another Redditor had a similar idea because the logic didn't add up with only one killer. "At one point I thought this only because I wasn't buying that patrick Dempsey could keep disappearing with no one noticing," they wrote.
Ultimately, the lapse in logic doesn't seem to deter many people's enjoyment. It's a slasher movie where the killer dresses like a pilgrim, so it can be forgiven if not every single plot point quite adds up. Besides, the ending of "Thanksgiving" leaves the door open for Newlon still being out there. Perhaps a sequel could see him team up with someone else, or two entirely new killers could enter the murderous fray. As it stands, it's a solid horror flick where viewers would probably do well not to think about it too hard.