"Sickest Thing You've Ever Done": Eli Roth Beat Quentin Tarantino & Robert Rodriguez For Grossest Grindhouse Scare

Eli Roth’s trampoline scene from Grindhouse stands as one of the anthology’s most infamous moments, and the horror director returns to break down the iconic kill. Released in 2007, Grindhouse is a double feature paying homage to 1970s exploitation cinema, comprised of Quentin Tarantino’s slasher Death Proof and Robert Rodriguez’s zombie-comedy Planet Terror. The anthology also included faux trailers by prominent horror directors, including Roth’s Thanksgiving, a holiday-themed slasher trailer packed with over-the-top gore and satirical humor.




In a conversation with Screen Rant’s Joe Deckelmeier at Fan Expo San Francisco (where Screen Rant was a media partner), Roth revisited Thanksgiving‘s now-iconic trampoline gag, where a cheerleader doing a split meets a gruesome end on a knife. Roth contended that this scene became the standout gross-out moment in Grindhouse, beating the efforts of his fellow gore directors. Here’s what he had to say:

I remember with Grindhouse when Quentin [Tarantino]… It was obviously a contest with all the directors to see who can get the most shocking moment in the movie.

When I did that girl with the knife and the trampoline, we literally had the girl do a split. She left, popped the knife up, and then in editing I cut to the turkey stab.
People were like, “That was the most disgusting thing in the movie,” and it was the cost of a trampoline screen.
That was our biggest budget thing in the movie because to really get the dust, we have to rip through a trampoline. That was expensive, but we’re like, “It’s worth it.”

It just goes to show that often the cheapest gag is the most effective.
I like doing stuff when I’m making a movie that’s like, “This one is very, very heavily prosthetic and over-engineered…” Going back to the trampoline scene, “That’s going to take a lot of work and a lot of prep lot,” but then we’re like, “What if we can get away with that? How do I do the knife on the trampoline?” Which is just an edit.

There’s literally
no makeup, no effects, no blood, nothing,
and people are like,
“That’s the sickest thing you’ve ever done.”
How do I get away with that? It’s so primally satisfying when you just do a reverse shot and the audience jumps. It’s great when you can can pull it off of with a cheap gag.



What Eli Roth’s Grossest Grindhouse Scare Means

The Director’s Shocking Scene Reflects His Splatter Film Legacy

Eli Roth’s work in Grindhouse showcases his mastery of the splatter genre, where he prioritizes creative, visceral horror over expensive effects. The infamous trampoline scene highlights how a well-crafted edit and clever visual storytelling can rival—and even surpass—high-budget gore. His films have stood as a testament to the timeless appeal of well-executed practical horror that shocks and entertains.


Roth has long been celebrated as a pioneer in the splatter genre, with films like Hostel and Cabin Fever cementing his reputation for realistically violent spectacles. His 2023 adaptation of Thanksgiving expanded on the story of his original Grindhouse trailer as social commentary on excess consumerism through holiday-themed carnage. The film received critical praise for its balance of satire and gore as a small town in Massachusetts is dealt a grueling fate by a killer in a John Carver mask.

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With Thanksgiving 2 set to begin filming in March 2025, Roth has established a burgeoning franchise. Following in the footsteps of Robert Rodriguez’s Machete and Jason Eisener’s Hobo with a Shotgun, Thanksgiving is now the third full-length movie adapted from Grindhouse’s faux trailers. Roth’s creative momentum suggests that the franchise could continue to deliver its grindhouse spectacle that expands on the director’s mastery of low-budget but effective horror.


Our Take On Eli Roth’s Grossest Grindhouse Scare

How Roth’s Trampoline Gag Became An Unforgettable Horror Classic

A knife tears through a trampoline in Eli Roth's Thanksgiving Short from Grindhouse (2007)

Roth’s trampoline scene is a perfect example of how simple setups can leave the most lasting impressions. The ingenuity behind this “cheap gag” proves that great horror isn’t about the budget but about understanding the audience psyche. The moment is shocking, visceral, and, most importantly, unforgettable. Roth’s ability to turn his faux trailer from Grindhouse into a full-length feature Thanksgiving while retaining its grisly charm speaks to his creativity as a filmmaker. Whether in low-budget grindhouse projects or franchise-level horror, Roth consistently delivers boundary-pushing scares that stick with audiences long after the credits roll.