Written by Andy Greskoviak and directed by Casey Tebo, Black Friday is a comedy-horror starring Devon Sawa and Bruce Campbell.
The film is set at a toy store called We Love Toys on Black Friday. We are introduced to employee Ken (Devon Sawa), a divorced father who would rather be spending time with his kids at home than going to work. We are also introduced to the other employees at the store before they open the doors to let customers in.
Unfortunately, one of them has an extra-terrestrial parasite which slowly infects the customers and staff. Upon hearing all the commotion, store manager, Jonathan (Bruce Campbell) leaves his office to see what all the fuss is about and is more focused on more store sales than the safety of the customers and the staff.
While I don’t foresee Black Friday becoming a cult classic anytime soon, the film is still a lot of fun. A lot of the humour comes from the jaded employees’ characters with their thoughts and frustrations on both the customers and their boss. If you have ever worked in a retail or customer service position before, then you’d definitely be able to relate to their jokes and observations. The horror elements are over-the-top and violent which makes them more funny than actually scary, adding to the fun of the film.
Black Friday’s make-up and the visual effects are surprisingly great. The parasite reminded me of the kind of alien-like creatures that you would see in a sci-fi or horror film from the 80s. I also thoroughly enjoyed how the characters would use the toys and stores tools as weapons. It is something that I have never seen before, and I relished viewing the characters with their unique use of weaponry.
I must admit that some of the characters and the acting within Black Friday can be a little flat or forgettable, but Devon Sawa and Bruce Campbell more than make up for it. Bruce Campbell is his usual charismatic self, and he has a lot of funny moments as selfish boss, Jonathan. While Devon Sawa impresses as the unlikely leader, Ken who uses seeing his kids again as motivation to get out of the store and avoid the parasite.
Black Friday is comedy-horror silly fun that is entertaining from start to finish. It is an enjoyable throwback to beloved 80s cult films, and if this is a genre that you enjoy, then you should grab your popcorn and see this film.
Black Friday will be released on DVD and VOD (Fetch TV and Telstra TV) in Australia from the 9th of March 2022.