BLACK FRIDAY IS THE HOLIDAY HORROR-COMEDY MOVIE YOU NEVER KNEW YOU NEEDED
In general, holiday horror films are either focused on Halloween or Christmas time. Sure, there are the occasional one offs like BLOOD RAGE or THANKSKILLING, but by and large holiday horror films don’t branch out much. When it comes to uniquely American holidays, none is more representative than the infamous day after Thanksgiving known as “Black Friday”. For some, it’s a bargain hunters delight that rewards the faithful who are diligently waiting to be the first inside. For others, it’s a reason to stay home and far away from the shopping frenzy that ensues. Regardless, it’s not so much a holiday as it is an event that is marketed as a holiday. For those who have worked in retail (Sam Goody what uppppp) its a day to be feared. Early hours, rabid customers, and the ensuing havoc this event creates are all too familiar to those who have braved the frontlines of holiday commerce. The event itself is so ripe for the horror that it’s almost surprising it hasn’t happened until now. BLACK FRIDAY is a sci-fi/horror-comedy that seeks to capitalize on the most capitalist of celebrations by adding a familiar alien invasion plotline with a diverse cast of retail warriors. So the question remains, is BLACK FRIDAY a welcome addition to the growing horror holiday lineup or is it not worth the hassle?
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
On Thanksgiving night, a group of disgruntled toy store employees begrudgingly arrive for work to open the store at midnight for the busiest shopping day of the year. Meanwhile, an alien parasite crashes to Earth in a meteor. This group of misfits led by store manager Jonathan (BRUCE CAMPBELL) and longtime employee Ken (DEVON SAWA) soon find themselves battling against hordes of holiday shoppers who have been turned into monstrous creatures hellbent on a murderous rampage on Black Friday.
Rabid customers takes on a whole new meaning in BLACK FRIDAY
HOW IS IT?
I’m not even going to sugarcoat this, I loved BLACK FRIDAY. It’s exactly the kind of absurd horror-comedy that joins a short list of great films like NIGHT OF THE CREEPS, NIGHT OF THE COMET, FEAST, and SLITHER. I don’t want to oversell this, but allow me to explain why this movie really works for me. Horror movies have always been a great measure of the social problems that plague society at a given time. Most recently, we are in a sort of “mental health metaphor” phase of horror where the films reflect the increased levels of anxiety, depression, dementia, and the like by juxtaposing them with horror tropes like supernatural elements, demons, and haunted houses. These aren’t new concepts, but I don’t recall a time where the theme has been more prevalent. This is not a dig on those films, many of them are great, but they take a lot of the viewer emotionally. Whilst the world still grapples with a global pandemic and the repercussions of that, there has also been a rise in mental health issues. Most folks watch films to escape the everyday, and horror is one of the genres that most embodies that mindset of escapism as it puts the viewer in positions they most certainly would never want to be in themselves so they can experience terrifying things with the safety of knowing it’s just a movie. While films don’t scare us as much as they used to in the traditional sense, they do tend to affect our emotional state. Sometimes it’s a fleeting tear, other times it is an existential crisis that shakes your core. So in a time where the world seems to be falling apart, my desire to see films that drag me down has decreased. BLACK FRIDAY is a breath of hilariously fun fresh air at a time when I need it most.
What makes BLACK FRIDAY so effective is that it wastes no time in establishing a strong and varied cast of characters, while also starting off with the problem they are going to face, an alien invasion. It doesn’t do this with boring and obvious exposition, it does it by dropping us off in the middle of these characters' lives. Take Ken (DEVON SAWA) for example. With very little time spent we know that he is a divorced father who has a tense relationship with this ex and her partner. Not only that, he is that special type of middle-aged man who doesn’t want to grow up, and yet doesn’t want to be seen as a burnout. He’s a good guy who wants to be a good dad, and it’s credit to the script and Devon that bring that character to life in just the span of a few minutes. The thing most horror films miss is that in order for your audience to care, they have to relate to something, and usually that is the characters. So many horror films, and especially horror-comedies, go out of their way to create caricatures that feel detached from reality and therefore hard to relate to. So while your movie may have some “great kills”, it won’t matter if you don’t care who is being killed. I would say the only outlier here is franchise slasher films, but those are a product of their time and times have changed. Viewers expect more than cardboard cutout slasher fodder, and want the characters to at the very least be interesting enough to follow around for 90+ minutes. BLACK FRIDAY delivers this in spades! From Marnie (IVANA BAQUERO) the dedicated employee who is yearning to escape retail hell to the eccentric warehouse head Archie (MICHAEL JAI WHITE) every character is perfectly captured in script and in delivery.
The final note here is that this is a legit funny film with some really fun horror moments. The gore is goopy and plentiful, without being overdone, and the jokes land. I’ve spoken before on other reviews about the difficulty to do both horror and comedy well, and I’m so happy that BLACK FRIDAY has managed to balance both extremely well. It’s a testament to the writing (ANDY GRESKOVIAK) and direction (CASEY TEBO) really. The pace is perfect with some great action and truly tender moments in-between that keep the viewer engaged without feeling overwhelmed by too much of one good thing. The creature designs are unique and effective enough that it really makes you appreciate the impact a great writer, director, and cast can have when you don’t have Marvel money. Hell, the jokes in BLACK FRIDAY land better than any Marvel film and the violence stands toe-to-toe with splatter classics like DEAD ALIVE. This is a movie meant to be seen with a crowd or with friends, but having watched all by my lonesome I can safely say it still slaps even when it’s a party of one!
They came to chew bubble gum and kick customer ass…and they are all out of gum.
LAST RITES
BLACK FRIDAY is arguably the best horror comedy since SLITHER, and that’s no easy feat to accomplish. From a pitch perfect script to a talented cast with great direction, BLACK FRIDAY is an instant classic that will easily be making my Top 10 films for 2021.
THE GORY DETAILS
Directed by CASEY TEBO
Written by ANDY GRESKOVIAK
Composed by PATRICK STUMP
Starring
Where can you watch it?
In Theaters & On Demand Friday, November 19th!
