Eli Roth Says Thanksgiving Has a ‘Hard-R’ Rating, Teases Gory Kills

If you thought the upcoming slasher Thanksgiving would lack violence and gore, think again. Director Eli Roth promises that Thanksgiving has a “hard-R” rating.

“The R-rated cut has everything I want,” Roth told SFX magazine via GamesRadar+. “So you can always add more gore, but I don’t feel stifled in any way, it’s the far end of the hard-R spectrum, so what you’re going to see in the theaters is my director’s cut.”

Roth has never been a filmmaker who shies away from blood and death, as evidenced in his films Cabin Fever, Hostel, and The Green Inferno. Roth believes in pushing the envelope, a mantra he used in Thanksgiving to stage the brutal kills.

“The kills have to be incredibly satisfying. It has to be really scary and really fun,” Roth said. “We’ve had a couple of screenings where there’s screams, applause, cheers, people thinking we’ve gone too far…”

What to Expect in Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving?

“After a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, a mysterious Thanksgiving-inspired killer terrorizes Plymouth, Massachusetts — the birthplace of the holiday,” the official synopsis reads. “Picking off residents one by one, what begins as random revenge killings are soon revealed to be part of a larger, sinister holiday plan. Will the town uncover the killer and survive the holidays…or become guests at his twisted holiday dinner table?”

Patrick Dempsey headlines Thanksgiving as the town sheriff attempting to catch the killer. The ensemble cast includes Addison Rae, Milo Manheim, Jalen Thomas Brooks, Nell Verlaque, Rick Hoffman, and Gina Gershon.

Thanksgiving is directed by Roth from a screenplay by Jeff Rendell. Roth and Rendell will produce alongside Roger Birnbaum. The film is inspired by Roth’s fake movie trailer he made from 2007’s Grindhouse by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino.

Thanksgiving arrives in theaters on November 17, 2023.