Joey Magidson
The Sunday Scaries are upon us once again! Yes, as the weekend concludes, most of us feel an oncoming sense of anticipatory dread about the week ahead. Anxiety about work manifests itself into a feeling that’s known as the Sunday Scaries. However, we at Awards Radar are here to combat that, by taking back the name. Now, we want you think about a horror-centric piece on the site when you hear the term. So, let us continue on with another installment of the Awards Radar Sunday Scaries! Today, my appetite is very much there for a sequel to a holiday related horror film…
It’s no secret that Eli Roth‘s Thanksgiving tickled me to no end, both as a fake trailer and then as an actual movie. For years, Myles and I spoke of it on the podcast, hoping against hope. Then, it was actually announced as Roth’s next project, leading to us rejoicing, if with some worry about if it would end up being good or not. Well, once it came out and actually was really enjoyable, we were thrilled. Not only did the film exist, but it was of a high quality. Now, while it can be revisited during the Turkey Day season, which we can and should all be thankful for, it does now lead to a hunger for the already announced sequel.
As a reminder, in my review (here) of the movie from back at the time of release, I had the following to say:
It’s no secret that I’ve wanted to see Thanksgiving as a feature film ever since I saw Eli Roth‘s fake trailer during Grindhouse. It just tickled my fancy so much, a slasher movie set during Turkey Day. Well, it’s now real, it’s here, and folks…it’s bloody glorious. Roth has made this horror flick for everyone who loves those good old fashioned slashers. It’s a hoot.
Thanksgiving deserves to play on Black Friday at midnight every year, going forward. It’s a future cult classic, for sure, but it’s also just a good horror movie. There’s plenty of homage to the trailer, but the film definitely exists of its own accord. It’s a throwback type of slasher, but considering how few we get at all these days, that’s still very much a compliment.
A sequel has been in development for two years now, since Thanksgiving 2 was announced by Roth himself. He’d stated it was green lit for a 2025 release, which may have been ambitious. Still, he and co-writer Jeff Rendell apparently turned in a final draft over a year ago, back in August of 2024. Some cast members have said they expect to be back, so while there hasn’t been anything official with casting, it’s clear that ideas are brewing and moves are being made, to one degree or another.
Now, maybe this film ends up not happening. I sure hope it does, but that 2025 release obviously did not happen. At the same time, I think Thanksgiving week/weekend is a perfect time to remind Roth and company that it’s a movie we’re looking forward to. It was a ready made slasher franchise going in, with the first flick being a winner only solidifying its future.
Hopefully Thanksgiving 2 moves forward soon, either for a 2026 or 2027 release date. In the meantime, I’ll keep banging the drum for it over here. If there’s no movement in a year, you can bet what this column will tackle again. Until then, I leave it in Roth’s very capable horror movie hands…
Stay tuned for another Sunday Scaries installment next week!
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