‘Thankskilling Day’: English-Language Czech Horror Film Completes Filming in Prague

Описание: 'Thankskilling Day': Czech Horror Film Wraps Production in Prague

Escape Room Turns Deadly in Upcoming Horror 'Thankskilling Day'

Summary

Production for the Czech horror film Thankskilling Day has finished in Prague, co-directed by Petr Kubík and JC Kovář, who also wrote the script.
The final scenes were shot on January 27 at Futurento, an escape room in Prague, which is important to the story.

Production has officially wrapped in Prague for Thankskilling Day, a Czech horror film co-directed by Petr Kubík and JC Kovář, who also penned the screenplay. The final scenes were filmed on January 27 at Futurento, an escape room in the heart of the Czech capital, which served as the backdrop for a pivotal sequence.

The plot follows six international students studying in Prague who trade a traditional Thanksgiving feast for an intense escape room challenge. However, what begins as a thrilling game quickly descends into a fight for survival. The English-language slasher targets global audiences but is slated for a Czech cinema release in November.

Kubík, one of the project’s directors, is known for his work on the 2020 Czech fantasy film Princess Cursed in Time (Princezna zakletá v čase) and its 2022 follow-up. He joined forces with Kovář to co-direct the 2023 comedy-thriller Blood Moon (Zatmění), but Thankskilling Day marks his debut in the horror genre.

“Horror felt like the ideal way to break into the international market,” Kubík said during the film’s final production day. Citing the genre's global appeal, particularly in the United States, he noted that Thankskilling Day is crafted with American audiences in mind. “Fans of slasher films will love the intense, throat-slashing scenes we’ve prepared,” he teased.

The cast features a mix of Czech and international talent. Vladimír Polívka, the son of acclaimed Czech actor Bolek Polívka, stars as a sinister bartender who oversees the malicious escape room. Other Czech actors include Tomáš Weber, Tomáš Novotný, and Ján Jackuliak. International cast members such as Fabio Morelli, Darren Jenkins-Johnston, and Jane Findley also lend their talents to the project.

Set in the near future, the story unfolds on Thanksgiving—November 27, 2025. The narrative also weaves in flashbacks to the Cold War era, specifically the 1970s and ’80s.

With its Thanksgiving theme, Thankskilling Day joins a growing list of horror films centered around American holidays. Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving (2023), for instance, expanded on a fake trailer created for Grindhouse, delivering a gruesome tale about a masked killer terrorizing a Massachusetts town after a Black Friday incident. A sequel to Roth’s film is already in the works.

For indie horror fans, the Thankskilling franchise—which includes the 2009 original and Thankskilling 3 from 2012 (there is no Thankskilling 2)—features a homicidal, wisecracking turkey. Known for their low-budget charm and absurd humor, the films have a cult following. However, despite the name resemblance, the Czech Thankskilling Day has no affiliation with the earlier Thankskilling films.

Thankskilling Day aims to bring a unique twist to the slasher genre and introduce Czech filmmaking to a broader international audience. Horror fans, mark your calendars—this chilling escape room experience will hit Czech theaters just in time for the holiday season!