A new addition to the long line of B-horror Christmas-themed flicks, Black Friday begins in a place not touched on in many other films: A Big Box store on the Eve of Black Friday. We’re introduced to the sci-fi horror elements from the get-go, watching as an alien entity invades a comically named ‘All-Mart’ before introducing us to the protagonists of the film.
Trying-his-darndest not to be a deadbeat dad is Ken (Devon Sawa) who we meet as he leaves his daughters with his ex-wife and their new stepdad so he can work the titular sale at ‘We Love Toys.' Almost inversely, germaphobe Chris scrubs up at his less-than-loving family home, getting ready for his extra long shifts over the weekend as his family complains about him having to work over the holidays.
The duo meets up for their near-daily carpool and heads to work. Things are pretty average until the new guy is violently attacked by a sickly shopper. The employees must band together not just to survive, but to defeat the deadly alien menace that has invaded their place of work.
If your patrons love campy horror comedies, Black Friday is a must-have for your library shelves. With well-considered and natural pacing, spectacular physical effects and monster acting, and a wonderful mix of humor, this film packs a considerable amount of enjoyment into a B-movie. Fans of Bruce Campbell will be interested to see him in a secondary role. His character, Jonathan, reminds me of many terrible managers I worked under during my days in the service industry and provides an interesting analysis of the organization of wage labor in America.
While some amateur reviews claim that Black Friday is nothing more than “Shaun of the Dead in a Wal-Mart," this goes to show how quickly they bailed on this film: they missed the alien invasion arc entirely.
Although this film is an absolute romp and valuable in many ways, It does miss the mark on several subjects: not a single named black character makes it to the end of the film, some gross-out elements are overused, and the presence of Cronenberg-style body horror will drive some viewers away. That being said, this Christmas-adjacent B-horror flick is a highly recommended addition to any film fiction collection.
What kind of film series would this film fit in?
Black Friday would be very interesting as the headliner for a Christmas Horror series followed by Gremlins and something in the vein of Krampus!