Like the Netflix hit Thanksgiving? Try watching these 3 scary horror movies

Jason Struss
·3 min read
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A masked killer holds an axe in Thanksgiving.
A masked killer holds an axe in Thanksgiving.

Last Thanksgiving, a movie came out that united both audiences and critics alike in mutual enjoyment. No, it wasn’t Disney’s G-rated Wish,– it was Eli Roth’s very R-rated horror movie Thanksgiving. First born as a fake trailer in Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse, Thanksgiving was fleshed out by Roth as a full feature with a cast that includes Patrick Dempsey, Gina Gershon, and Addison Rae.

Thanksgiving is now on Netflix and is currently one of the most popular movies on the streamer. If you’re craving more frights, here are three movies also streaming on Netflix that should satisfy your bloodlust.

Fear Street Part Two: 1978 (2021)

A masked killer holds an axe in Fear Street: 1978.
A masked killer holds an axe in Fear Street: 1978.

Based on the popular R.L. Stine book series of the same name, the Netflix adaptation from 2021 encompasses three films, but the 1978 entry is the best of the bunch and the most like Thanksgiving due to its time period and adherence to the slasher genre. In other words, there’s lots of gory murders, and a killer with an ax to boot.

The movie stars Stranger Things actress Sadie Sink as Ziggy, a misfit teenager stuck at a summer camp. Bullied by her peers, Ziggy withdraws and doesn’t pay attention to others, but she does notice strange occurrences like the camp nurse randomly attacking a kid and other people acting oddly. Along with her older sister, Cindy, and counselor Nick, Ziggy discovers something supernatural has taken over their camp. It’s not a classic, but Fear Street: 1978 gets the job done with grisly death scenes and some genuinely scary moments.

The Strangers (2008)

Three masked figures stand in front of a couple in The Strangers.
Three masked figures stand in front of a couple in The Strangers.

There are some horror movies that are classics right out of the gate while there are others that take a while to find the appreciation they deserves. The Strangers falls into the latter category. Released in 2008, the movie’s reputation has grown, and with good reason- – it’s one of the most terrifying horror movies of the last 20 years. Lord of the Rings star Liv Tyler and Felicity hunk Scott Speedman star as a couple fighting for their lives against three masked attackers while at their vacation home.

Featuring three creepy antagonists, two great performances from Tyler and Speedman, and an ending that will haunt you for some time, The Strangers is effective because it knows that there’s nothing scarier than the unknown. Nothing is explained, and the violence is random and shocking. The movie is leaving Netflix at the end of the month, so now’s the time to watch it if you haven’t yet.

X (2002)

An old woman stands in a farmhouse in X.
An old woman stands in a farmhouse in X.

One of the best movies of 2022, Ti West’s X shares Thanksgiving‘s love for retro-1970s horror. With an ensemble led by the charismatic Mia Goth in a dual role, the plot centers on a ragtag crew of amateur pornographers wanting to shoot a film at an elderly couple’s secluded Texas farmhouse. It soon becomes apparent they are being picked off one by one by an unknown murderer.

Doubling as a commentary on aging and an ode to horror classics like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, X is an entertaining horror movie that you won’t soon forget. It’s also pretty scary, with several death scenes that will make the most jaded horror fan jump in their seat.