Black Friday is the other Bruce Campbell movie that is coming out in November. The movie takes place on Thanksgiving at a toy store. The employees are preparing for the busiest shopping day of the year. On the same day, a meteor crashes into earth making the titular day even more chaotic than usual. Can the staff of We Love Toys deal with the rush of customers and an alien invasion?
Though the big names are Campbell and Devon Sawa, the film is more of an ensemble cast. There are a number of employees that have begrudgingly come in and there is an equal focus on all of them until the final act of Black Friday. This ends up being the film’s biggest pro and con. Each character – including some customers – gets a chance to shine. Black Friday moves at a hectic pace that keeps the jokes flying. The script makes sure to include everyone in on the fun.
The flip side is that none of them are given defined personalities. There is the store manager, the lackey who kisses up to him, the rebel, and the young guy. Unfortunately, they do not get much more depth than that. Aside from the fact they are obviously the heroes, there is no reason to get behind them. Even the love interest does not really seem like one until an odd exchange.
Black Friday moves at a fast pace that makes it easy to overlook these flaws, however. The film seems like it is satisfied to be a silly holiday horror flick. Then, things come to a grinding halt. The group gathers in a circle and just talks while the aliens run amok. This leads to a weird argument that makes no sense in context with everything else that has happened.
Thankfully, the scene finally ends and things pick back up to one liners and gore. Things are at their best when the focus is on the gruesome creatures and the nonexistent character development. Black Friday is a fine scary movie for the holiday season when it does not take itself seriously.
Black Friday comes to theaters November 19
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