A group of toy store workers must stand against a horde
of Black Friday shoppers infected by an alien parasite. COMEDY/HORROR
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Black Friday (2021)Directed by Casey Tebo
Written by Andy Greskoviak Starring Devon Sawa, Ivana Baquero, Ryan Lee, Stephen Peck, Michael Jai White, Bruce Campbell, Celeste Oliva |
Horror comedies are usually a great deal of fun, and when I saw the trailer for Black Friday, I knew it was going to be another winner. The film is more about how shitty it is to work retail, which I used to do. There's a ton of inside jokes for people who understand the struggle. More than that, it's a great zombie comedy that sort of combines Slither with Dawn of the Dead to make an outrageous zomedy. Plus, you've got Bruce Campbell once again working in a retail setting overrun with monsters. Sadly, it's not S-Mart, but it still works.
It's Black Friday, and the worst shoppers of the year are lined up outside of We Love Toys to berate the sales staff and kick the shit out of each other all to get 50% off their kids' Christmas presents. Ken (Sawa) is a divorced dad trying his best, Marnie (Baquero) is the cashier he's casually dating who sees him more as a joke, and Chris (Lee) is the teenager with a shitty family who's overachievement is never recognized. Together, they face the horde of Black Friday, not realizing that an alien parasite has infected them, and pretty soon its employees vs. shoppers to the death. Campbell plays their overzealous, shitty manager Jonathan, who has a great change of heart arc. If you've ever worked in the service industry, you will gain so much secondary satisfaction watching these guys go to town on a sea of Karens and other entitled assholes. The zombie action is terrific, the story is engaging, the characters are realistic, and the ending is ridiculously over-the-top. What more could you ask for? |