Filmmaker Eli Roth carved a name for himself in the horror genre with such films as “Hostel,” “Cabin Fever,” and “The Green Inferno.” He’s also branched out a time or two with titles like “Inglorious Basterds” and “The House with a Clock In It’s Walls.” Most recently, he’s been tackling a film adaptation of “Borderlands.” The gaming franchise from Gearbox Software blends gunplay, comedy, and RPG mechanics together in a world where society has essentially fallen apart on the planet Pandora. We were recently surprised to learned Roth was NOT directing the film’s reshoots. Given Roth both writing and directing the project, that seems like an odd occurrence.
There’s actually a pretty good reason why “Deadpool” director Tim Miller is stepping in, and it has to do with Quinten Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez‘s “Grindhouse.”
In 2007, Tarantino and Rodriquez teamed up for “Grindhouse.” The flick was a double-feature of the films “Plane Terror” and “Death Proof,” which sought to emulate the days of 70s genre B-movies. To complete the aesthetic, several trailers were made for non-existent films that would’ve easily fit into that same genre. Different filmmakers were brought in to make these trailers, with two of them becoming their own films- “Machete” and “Hobo With a Shotgun.” Well now a third is joining the mix.
Roth’s contribution was a holiday related horror film,”Thanksgiving.” Roth is actually working on a full film, hence his reason for not doing the “Borderlands” reshoots. “Thanksgiving” was a brutally silly and over the top pastiche of other holiday related horror films. You could see a lot of “Halloween” influences in it, but with the violence ratcheted up to an absurd degree. Full beheadings, a cheerleader on a trampoline landing nether-region down on a knife, a man baked and twisted into looking like a cooked turkey; ridiculousness.
“Thanksgiving” does have a delectable sense of schlock which could be a lot of fun if done properly. It’ll be interesting to see if Roth fully leans into the 70’s aesthetic and grindhouse nature, or if he tries to play it a bit more serious. If there’s any sense of justice in the world, hopefully we’ll get a Thanksgiving week release for “Thanksgiving.” Nothing pairs with turkey like an axe wielding, homicidal man dressed as a pilgrim.
