These 12 Thanksgiving Horror Movies Include Killer Turkeys and Alien Abductions

2021's "Black Friday" takes the biggest shopping day of the year and exposes it for all its horrors. OK, so maybe it turns it into a zombie attack, but the terrifying hordes of shoppers who descend upon stores on the day after Thanksgiving are no doubt horrifying for store employees. In this movie, the employees at a toy store have to defend themselves against zombie shoppers who are infiltrating the store on this chaotic shopping holiday. The movie, which will be released ahead of this year's Black Friday, might just make you rethink setting out for your own shopping trip after Turkey Day.

"Black Friday" is available to rent or buy on Prime Video.

Starring Krisha Fairchild, the real-life aunt of Trey Edward Shults, "Krisha" takes viewers to the Thanksgiving family reunion from hell. More of a drama than a horror movie, this story of a woman struggling with addiction and attempting to reconcile with her estranged family is unsettling enough to merit the horror label.

Watch "Krisha" on Max.

In "Kristy," college student Justine (Haley Bennett) can't afford to fly home for Thanksgiving, so she stays on her college campus in this 2014 film. Over the break, she finds a girl named Violet (Ashley Greene) in her room with a knife, and when she tries to escape, she quickly finds out that Violet isn't operating alone. She's part of a cult, out to kill the "Kristys" of the world — seemingly perfect, God-fearing women. Justine spends a panicked night trying to escape the killers, engaging in violence of her own while watching some of her friends get killed. It's when she goes after Violet herself that it all comes to a head.

Watch "Kristy" on The Roku Channel.

As part of Hulu's "Into the Dark" series, "Pilgrim" is a creepy look at historical reenactors gone awry. Spoiled housewife Anna (Courtney Henggeler) decides that this Thanksgiving, she's going to hire a bunch of people to cosplay as Pilgrims in order to re-create the first Thanksgiving — but in her home for her family. However, the "Pilgrims" show up way too early and tell Anna that they're going to immerse her family in Pilgrim ways. Things quickly devolve as the Pilgrims act stranger and the concept of what Thanksgiving actually is starts to blur. It goes beyond just psychological thriller, though, when things start to get seriously bloody.

Watch "Pilgrim" on Hulu.

"The Oath," starring Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinholtz, definitely leans more toward thriller than horror, but some of the concepts of this film in modern America are definitely horrifying. In this movie that takes place in an alternate universe of the US, people are required to sign an oath pledging their allegiance to the country by Black Friday. The film delves into opposing political views and what a world would be like if requirements like this were set out by a tyrannical leader. It also shows an extreme view of what political disagreements could look like just within a family — so like we said: horrifying!

"The Oath" is available to rent or buy on Prime Video.

During her school's Thanksgiving break, Zoey (Taylor Russell) discovers an intricately designed puzzle cube. Easily solving it, Zoey then enters an escape room — but this isn't like the escape rooms you play with a group of friends. This game, which Zoey plays with a bunch of strangers, quickly turns deadly. As each player gets picked off, those remaining realize it isn't about luck but about skill. It turns out there's a game master behind it all, and Zoey is set on taking him out. But what happens if the game master isn't actually the source of all this evil?

Watch "Escape Room" on Hulu.

In "Blood Rage," twins Todd and Terry are at a drive-in movie when they find their mom (Louise Lasser) locked in a passionate makeout session with a man they don't know. Terry explodes and kills a teen in a nearby car out of rage — but then pins the whole thing on Todd. Todd's then locked up in an asylum while Terry goes about his adolescent life. Ten years later on Thanksgiving Day, Todd escapes the asylum and Terry starts to break down again, going after his mom's current partner. All hell breaks loose when the two of them are on their own murderous rampages.

"Blood Rage" is available to rent or buy on Prime Video.

Horror comedy "ThanksKilling" is crass, gory, and very high camp. It starts at the very first Thanksgiving in 1621, where a Pilgrim is killed by a turkey wielding a tomahawk. The movie then jumps to modern time, to a group of teens who end up stranded when their car breaks down. They start discussing native urban legends, including those related to Thanksgiving. Supposedly a demon turkey comes around every 505 years to unleash its evils onto people who have settled on native lands. This year, though, he shows up early and just goes to town killing everyone who crosses his path.

After you finish "ThanksKilling," head on over to "ThanksKilling 3" . . . no, there isn't a "ThanksKilling 2." The evil turkey — named Turkie — is back in action and carving up everyone in his path to find the last existing copy of "ThanksKilling 2." If it sounds absurd, that's because it is. This movie's cast primarily consists of puppets, somehow actually makes it even scarier as Turkie takes out a bunch of unsuspecting people puppets while wielding his chainsaw as a weapon, spewing blood just about everywhere. The 2012 movie is the perfectly gruesome follow-up to the original.

Watch "ThanksKilling" on Prime Video.

When he was a child, Tim (Barry Watson) saw the Boogeyman take his dad, making him deathly afraid of closets — where the Boogeyman lives — and the creepy figure himself. When he grows up, Tim goes on a Thanksgiving trip with his girlfriend and has a vision that his mom wants him to come home. However, it turns out that his mom is dead. Following the advice of his psychiatrist, Tim returns to his childhood home to confront his fears, only to be met by the Boogeyman. He can't seem to do anything to escape the sadistic villain, who keeps coming after him and everyone else.

"Boogeyman" is available to buy on Prime Video.

Thanksgiving gets turned on its head when the killer spirit of a blues musician is unleashed. While on the loose, he terrorizes everyone he encounters — most notably some young sweethearts who are totally unsuspecting victims. "Ghost Note" — which is a musical note with no sound, common in blues — is a ghost story at its core with enough of an indie vibe to be just this side of creepy. You'll be on the edge of your seat wondering if this terrifying ghost will be recaptured and banished before it's too late and he kills again.

Watch "Ghost Note" on The Roku Channel.

Slasher film "Home Sweet Home," directed by Nettie Peña, was made in the early 1980s and has all the trappings of a vintage horror movie. Escaped mental patient Jay Jones (Jake Steinfeld) — who was locked up for killing his parents — shows up at a Thanksgiving gathering and immediately wreaks havoc. He cuts the power to the house before offing the homeowner and cutting the phone lines, isolating the guests from any help they could possibly summon. As the guests sit down to enjoy what they think will be Thanksgiving dinner, Jay enters and starts picking them off one by one. Will anyone survive?

Watch "Home Sweet Home" on Prime Video.

This found-footage TV movie, shot documentary-style, tells the story of what happens when one family is visited by aliens during their Thanksgiving dinner. The family in question stumble upon a UFO in the woods near their house and are confronted by extraterrestrial beings, and though they try to flee, they are, of course, chased. The nauseatingly haunting footage is spliced with modern commentary by alien experts as the story goes on. Viewers follow the family through the alien attack, with the camera in tow. It comes to a head with a showdown between humans and aliens, and not everyone makes it out alive.

"Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County" is available to watch on YouTube.