Prisoners: The perfect Thanksgiving movie to turn into that panic spin

The parade is over. The plates have been cleared. The family is gone, and you're full. Not just on turkey, mashed potatoes, and whatever cranberry atrocity is traditional for your clan, but also just full up on the holiday cheer. Sure, there's plenty of funny Thanksgiving TV specials to indulge in, family-friendly Belcher antics to binge-watch, and even Christmas movies to marathon. But maybe you're hungering for something dark and grim. For this acquired taste, I recommend biting into Denis Villeneuve's twisted crime-thriller, Prisoners. Why? Well, for starters it's seasonally set. Prisoners is a Thanksgiving movie from the start. Prisoners begins on a Thanksgiving that no one in this quiet Pennsylvanian town will soon forget. This is a place of cozy Americana, where neighbors gather together for the holiday feast and bring to the table good manners, warmth, and the freshly slaughtered venison from the deer snagged while hunting. Proud patriarch Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) is deeply devoted to his family, doting on his young daughter and intently instructing his teen son that a man's role is as protector, no matter what. So, when his little girl and her best friend Joy go missing — ironically while in search of the "safety whistle" dear old dad gave her — it shatters something inside Keller. As his wife (Maria Bello) crumbles into despair, he cannot leave this missing-persons case up to the police. So while headstrong hotshot Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) chases down leads both winding and grotesque, Keller tails his own prime suspect (Paul Dano). But this leads him down a slippery slope of vigilantism, vengeance, and possible damnation. Hugh Jackman roughs up Paul Dano in "Prisoners." Credit: Moviestore / Shutterstock Long before delving into the world of Dune, Villeneuve absolutely stuffed this film with heralded performers, including David Dastmalchian, Terrence Howard, and Academy Award–winners Viola Davis and Melissa Leo. Each actor sinks their teeth into a