It’s Thanksgiving week, and while celebrations might look a bit different this year, theming our viewing habits around holidays remains a constant. Except, the pool of Thanksgiving-themed horror is relatively shallow. While Blood Rage and ThanksKilling (both on Prime Video and Tubi) offer perennial schlock faves, and films like You’re Next (Peacock TV) capture the chaos and dysfunction of family gatherings, we’re thinking outside the box this week.
But not too far outside it…
These five horror movies will make you think twice about gluttony for a holiday centered around feasts and food. Be careful what you eat and where, because you might wind up as dinner, or worse. If your Thanksgiving looks way different than usual this year, may these five horror movies bring you comfort, cheer, and plenty of gross-out laughs.
As always, here’s where you can stream them.
Attack of the Mushroom People – Prime Video, Tubi
Released initially as Matango, this condensed American dub sees a group of passengers and crew aboard a yacht on a day trip capsized by unpredictable weather. They wind up on a deserted island that’s scarce in food resources, save for mysterious mushrooms and a shipwreck onshore containing remnants of radioactive testing. The castaways grow paranoid and hostile as rations are depleted, and more of them develop uncontrollable cravings for the mushrooms. They don’t realize until it’s too late that the mushrooms transform them into fungal humanoid creatures. Directed by Ishirō Honda, the mind behind prominent kaiju films Godzilla, Rodan, Destroy All Monsters and more, Attack of the Mushroom People offers something far more atmospheric and eerie. It’d make for an excellent double-bill with Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Ignore the silly title; this is serious slow-burn horror with a surprising bite.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space – Prime Video, Tubi
I don’t know about you, but just seeing the title for this ’80s cult favorite instantly gets the theme song stuck in my head. The Chiodo brothers’ production follows a town under siege by clown-like aliens from space. These killer klowns set about transforming the locals into cotton candy cocoons so they can slurp them down through straws. They use food as weapons, too, like acidic cream pies that melt faces or unleash sack fulls of tiny popcorn monsters upon residents. The klowns even use pizza delivery as a pretense to invade. Sure, they’ve got plenty of other jester-like tricks up their poofy sleeves, but it’s clear they adore food above all else.
Troll 2 – HBO Max
A sequel in name only, Troll 2 makes for one of the most ridiculous horror movies you’ll ever see. Lovingly dubbed one of the best worst movies you’ll ever see by fans, the events that transpire in this film often defy logic and explanation. The story follows the Waits family as they arrive in the town of Nilbog for an extended vacation. But Nilbog is goblin spelled backward, and young Josh Waits (Michael Stephenson) learns through his ghostly grandpa that the locals are vegetarian goblins in disguise aiming to transform all humans into plants for easy consumption. There’s death by drowning via popcorn, ruined feasts via urination, and a whole lot more in a movie that will leave you uttering “WTF?!” If you’ve found yourself indoctrinated into the cult of Troll 2, then its documentary Best Worst Film can be found on Prime Video.
Motel Hell – Prime Video, The Roku Channel
This fun horror-comedy, in which a friendly farmer and his sister kidnap travelers, bury them alive up to their necks and then harvest them for creating their famous smoked meat, elicited a positive review from Roger Ebert. It seems Farmer Vincent’s plucky charm and the tongue-in-cheek humor managed to woo the tough to please film critic, despite the “disgusting” cannibalism that would typically turn him off from the genre. Even the film’s tagline is tough to beat: “It takes all kinds of critters to make Farmer Vincent Fritters.” While we know what kind of critters it takes, it’s too much fun to watch Farmer Vincent in action to care. Rory Calhoun’s scene-chewing villain steals the show.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Hulu
Director Tim Burton brings his distinct quirky gothic style in this 2007 adaptation of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s Tony Award-winning 1979 musical. The musical slasher tells the tale of barber Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp), a man falsely convicted and exiled by a corrupt judge who lusted after Barker’s wife. Barker returns fifteen years later, assuming the name Sweeney Todd, using his new barbershop to enact revenge. He forges an unlikely partnership with his neighbor, Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), and both of their businesses flourish once she starts using his victims as the main ingredient in her meat pies. Sweeney Todd offers a faithful adaptation with gorgeous production design. More importantly, it delivers Grand Guignol style gruesomeness.
Bonus: The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover – Peacock TV
Classified as a crime drama, this gruesome tale of revenge bides its time establishing a twisted love triangle. After acquiring an upscale restaurant, crass mob boss Albert Spica (Michael Gambon) dines there every night, repulsing his wife Georgina (Helen Mirren) in the process. She soon begins a secret affair with another restaurant patron, and when Spica discovers the affair, he plots gruesome revenge. The provocative tale of greed and vengeance is lavish in production and style, but it also ruffled the MPAA’s feathers, earning the film an NC-17 rating for its liberal use of nudity and grisly violence. You might not want to eat before watching this one.