Horror Movie Review: Black Friday (2021)

Black Friday is a horror comedy film that was written by Andy Greskoviak and directed by Casey Tebo. It stars Devon Sawa, Ivana Baquero, Ryan Lee, Stephen Peck, Michael Jai White, and Bruce Campbell, releasing in 2021.

Ahhh Black Friday, the time of year when big corporations entice us all with huge sales and discounts on items. When they knock those prices down to the same ones that they were 3 months ago and convince you that it’s a bargain, consumerism at its finest right there! Sounds like the perfect backdrop for a fun-filled horror comedy if you ask me.

Because he has to work on Thanksgiving, Ken Bates drops off his daughters Lyla and Gracie for dinner with their mother and her new husband Grant. Ken then picks up his germophobe co-worker Chris and drives to their late shift at We Love Toys. While anxious shoppers assemble outside, Ken and Chris join co-workers Marnie, Brian, Archie, Ruth, Emmett, Anita, and Bircher as they get ready to open the store for Black Friday. Bircher accidentally locks himself outside the building while smoking a cigarette. Possessed by a parasite, a rabid shopper mauls Bircher, causing him to transform into a creature.

Store manager Jonathan Wexler has his employees open the doors. Shoppers pour in, but they gradually turn violent as the parasitic mutation spreads. Everyone eventually realizes that the shoppers are transforming into murderous creatures as they are attacked and forced to fight back.

Ruth holes up in the office while Archie leads Chris and Brian through a mutant horde to close an exit door before more shoppers get inside. Jonathan and Ken battle a creature in the bathroom. Marnie sneaks into Santa’s Village and sees that transformed shoppers are being assimilated into a growing sac. Once the exit door is secured, everyone regroups on the store floor. Driven by a possessed officer, a speeding police car crashes through the front window. The car runs over Ruth. Mutating shoppers begin pouring inside again.

Can they survive the horrors of Black Friday?

Black Friday managed to gather a pretty interesting cast. To put it in the nicest way possible, actors who it would appear have their best years and roles behind them. That’s me not knocking what they’ve done beforehand but yeah. I’m only mentioning this because I feel that there was a lot of potential with these actors than what they end up doing in the film. Simply put, the cast is wasted. To be a bit more positive, I thought the acting throughout was pretty good. This is a compliment because none of the characters are particularly developed so there’s not much to work with.

What an amazing backdrop for a horror comedy. I mean come on, A toy store? There’s so much potential there. Is it utilized? In a word, nope. There’s just so many possibilities with props, locations and so forth that it left me disappointed that little is used in any memorable way. Additionally, it being Black Friday, Thanksgiving and almost Christmas feels like a hugely wasted chance at creativity. I know the budget is clearly low but I wanted more, much more. It seems to me like too much of the budget was used on getting these recognizable names instead of far more important aspects.

The story is predictable, fine but nothing original. There are some convoluted elements and moments with certain characters. I can see what they were going for with Bruce Campbell’s character but it didn’t really work for me.

At the very least, I can say that the practical effects work is very good. These zombified shoppers are intimidating with their razor sharp teeth and speed. How’s the comedy in his horror comedy? Well, hit and miss to be honest. There’s a running gag about a robotic bear (voiced by Seth Green) but I didn’t get that at all. One thing’s for sure, retail workers would most certainly get a kick at the commentary in Black Friday about the behaviour of consumers during such events.

Overall, Black Friday isn’t terrible but it isn’t good either, it’s somewhere in between. An ok at best horror comedy that has a few highlights but not enough to be memorable.