Black Friday has become the ultimate capitalist, consumer event. Competitive buying as described by Bruce Campbell in this movie. The desire to get deals on household goods, particularly technologies has in recent years reached fever pitch and there have even been incidents where people have died due to the rampaging hordes of shoppers that descend upon US chains stores, like the undead ready to feast.
What better setting for a horror film then?
Black Friday, directed by Casey Tebo, takes several cynical stabs at the event in its brief run time while simultaneously discussing loyalty, family, consumerism and more. The horror comedy is often marred by some pretty sketchy visual effects, especially in its third act, but for me it was the non horror centric moments that worked the best in this zom-com.
First of all, Can I please say that I am thoroughly enjoying the “Devonaissance”; this period in time where 90’s teen heartthrob Devon Sawa is seeing a fantastic resurgence, particularly in the horror community due to his roles in films like this and also Don Mancini’s Chucky television series. Devon Sawa was always an actor I enjoyed in films like Idle Hands and Final Destination, but seeing him older, more grizzled and slaying in these roles is wonderful.
I don’t mind a character changing and growing if it feels earned, but there are moments in Black Friday where it seems like a character completely changes just because it serves a particular story beat and not because it was driven to that point by their growth.
Paddy Murphy
Here, Sawa plays Wes; an aging, jaded toy store worker who barely gets to see his kids; skating through life paycheck to paycheck and treating every day like he’s still in high school. He’s developed a bond with co-worker Chris [Ryan Lee] and hooking up with Marnie [Ivana Baquero] a colleague almost twenty years his junior.
On a black friday that he doesn’t want to be working, Ken has to deal with the sycophantic Brian [Stephen Peck] and long running “employee of the month” Anita [Celeste Olivia] constantly lording their menial achievements over him in a bid to impress the lazy and cowardly store manager, Jonathan – played by horror fandoms beloved Bruce “The Chin” Campbell.
In the early sections of the movie the effects excel, with some grisly kills and top class practical effects.
Paddy Murphy
The night was already going to be hell; even before hordes of zombie like monsters break into the store and begin biting and infecting people. In the early sections of the movie the effects excel, with some grisly kills and top class practical effects. As the story continues, the creatures are building something in the centre of the store out of some kind of purple goop.
This is where the film wavers. We never really understand the intent of these beings and even when the monsters dark construction is revealed, we don’t really know how or why it is happening. The real shame is that beneath the horror there is a fantastic story of spoiled potential and the dissatisfaction that comes with a career of retail.
Bruce Campbell’s Jonathan is delighted he has spent 27 years at “We Luv Toys” as he literally has nothing else. Unlike the others he doesn’t have a family inviting him for thanksgiving and instead gains thrill and satisfaction from meeting sales targets and impressing sales targets. It’s in these character explorations that the film truly excels.
The running time is brief and the pacing is generally pretty good, though the third act is definitely the most muddled which is a shame because there is a lot of interesting setup throughout the first two acts. Characters make decisions in the third act that are just completely at odds with how they have been presented up to that point and it can be incredibly jarring.
I don’t mind a character changing and growing if it feels earned, but there are moments in Black Friday where it seems like a character completely changes just because it serves a particular story beat and not because it was driven to that point by their growth. One of the films biggest sins is its under utilization of Spawn’s Michael Jai White who excels despite having what effectively amounts to a long cameo.
Overall, Black Friday is a fun little B-Movie and makes me keen to see what Casey Tebo does next. There are some great central performances from the key cast and it benefits from a short runtime of just 84 minutes. The film is still an enjoyable watch in spite of a clunky third act and is definitely a howl with some horror friends and a few beers.
Just remember; Black Friday can be a killer for retail staff.
Paddy Murphy is a film-maker and content creator from the West of Ireland. Since 2015 Murphy has written, produced and directed 4 feature films including The Three Don'ts, The Perished and In Memoriam. Murphys YouTube channel Let's Survive Paddy Plays has seen significant growth since it first started in 2020. Favourite Film: Hellraiser, Favourite Game: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
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Paddy Murphyhttps://tbmhorror.com/author/paddy-murphy/
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Paddy Murphyhttps://tbmhorror.com/author/paddy-murphy/
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Paddy Murphyhttps://tbmhorror.com/author/paddy-murphy/
