“Krisha” is actually not a horror flick but a small intimate family drama. And yet it does feel like a horror movie from time to time as it closely observes what may be another bad day in the problematic life of its title character. The more we get to know her, the more it is apparent that she is a walking mess of troubles, and we cannot help but brace ourselves for tragedy.
At first, Krisha (Krisha Fairchild) believes that she can control herself well enough for the upcoming family dinner on Thanksgiving Day, and everything seems to be fine as she arrives at a big suburban house where her sister Robyn (Robyn Fairchild) lives with her family. Other family members are already there, and they all cordially greet Krisha along with Robyn, but it slowly becomes apparent to us that Krisha has been a black sheep in the family for many years. We gather that she has struggled with a serious addiction problem, and we can easily guess that she was not a very good mother to her son in the past because of that. Although Trey, played by Shults himself, has been quite close to Robyn and her husband since Krisha abandoned him a long time ago, Krisha really wants to reconnect with her son during this family meeting, and that is the main reason why she is determined to hold herself together as much as possible.
However, her current condition is not so ideal to say the least. Krisha manages to look sober and well to Robyn and other family members, but she constantly feels agitated just like many alcoholics struggling with their urge to drink. Her private metal box is full of medicine pills which are probably for calming her nerves, and then we notice the missing tip of her right index finger covered in a bandage. (A small bit of trivia: this notable detail was incorporated into the film right before its shooting due to the lead actress’ unexpected injury). When she later tries to call some guy who is probably her boyfriend, it looks like she recently hit another bottom and made a big mess as a consequence. We can only imagine how her private life has been strewn with many unresolved issues.
As many of her family members are busy with preparing for the dinner or watching a football game on TV, Krisha gladly participates in preparing a big turkey to be served. She feels a bit better being around her family members again, but she is still on the edge while constantly aware of the noisy domestic environment surrounding her. Around the point when the turkey is finally prepared for the oven, she gets a private moment with her son, but then she overlooks how they have been estranged from each other for years. She tries to tell him how much she wants to be close to him again; her son only gives casual replies to her without looking at her at all. This certainly puts another strain on her unstable mind, which is more like a ticking bomb as dinner approaches.