Black Friday

There is one place i love more than anything. It is better than any musical events, or even better than lying on a beach in Greece. And that is of course to visit a big shopping mall. The bigger the shopping mall is, the more happy i become. I remember back in december of 2014 when i was in Bangkok, Thailand. There was a shopping mall with 7 floors and almost over one thousand stores. It was the most beautiful building that i have ever seen, so i hugged the building with tears of joy in my eyes. It felt like coming home to paradise, and we spent at least 7 hours in there. This was just around Christmas time, so the timing to visit this 7 floor shopping mall was perfect. Speaking of Christmas, a lot of people enjoy getting their Christmas presents during Black Friday, or Black Weekend. It´s that weekend when stores reduce prices, to give the customer some nice offers. I have bought some stuff on Black Friday, and at least made some good deals. What you need to do is compare prices, just to make sure you get a good price. Otherwise you may not get that great deal, that you were hoping for. When it comes to horror films that takes place in stores, or super markets, there are a few films that comes to my mind. One of those films that is still really good, is the 2007 horror film The Mist from director Frank Darabont ( who directed the classic 90´s film The Green Mile ). The Mist is based on the novella The Mist, by legendary author Stephen King, and this film tells the stoy of people who live in the small town of Bridgton, Maine. When a big storm hit the small town, a group of people are stranded at their local super market to wait the storm out, as a mist lays all over the city. What they don´t know, is that this is no ordinary mist, and in this mist there are creatures waiting out there. The Mist is a really effective horror film, that especially show how important it is to help each other out in hard times, that to be able to survive you have to make good decisions. Great acting performances from Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, William Sadler and many more. Definetely worth watching on Netflix, Amazon Prime or on VOD, wherever you can find The Mist. I have a tradition during Christmas time, and that is to watch the Evil Dead films with legendary actor Bruce Campbell. All of the films have something to offer, no matter if you love lots of blood and gore. Bruce Campbell as the main character Ash Williams, is one of the most iconic horror characters ever. Earlier this summer i noticed that Bruce Campbell was going to be in a horror comedy called Black Friday, wich sounded like fun. A film that takes place during Thanksgiving, where customers prepare buying Christmas gifts, sounds like the perfect holiday film right? Is this film better than i expected, or should the film Black Friday be thrown into the nearest trash can?

It is Thanksgiving night, and employees are preparing opening for Black Friday at the big toy store We Love Toys. Employee Ken Bates ( Devon Sawa ) drop off his daughters to their mother, since he have to work. He picks up his nebbish coworker Chris Godecki ( Ryan Lee ) and drives to their late shift. What they don´t know at the We Love Toys store, is that a parasite from outser space is taking over human bodies tonight. This Black Friday sale will definetely be different this year, that offers more than discounts.

Since we may not get a lot of Christmas horror films this year ( because of the pandemic ), it is quite possible that Black Friday could be one of the better choices this year, if you want to see a film that tries to capture the feeling of winter holidays. In fact, i actually had a good time with this film, and it´s not just because of the combination of horror and comedy. There is especially one thing that this film does right. And that is capture how Black Friday weekend can be for people working in stores, as they are preparing to handle the chaos, grumpy customers, while making sure that the cash registers are working. There are so many details that need to work on a weekend like this, and this film actually manage to show you this, in a funny and effective way. You can see the workers trying to be as professional as possible, when you know they would rather go home and eat that Thanksgiving turkey instead. Let´s get into some more positive details that i enjoy about Black Friday. The strange blob looking creatures, that turn humans into some kind of zombie, looks pretty cool. And i imediately came to think about a film called The Blob from legendary director Chuck Russel ( who also directed A Nightmare On Elm Street 3 - Dream Warriors ). I can´t say for sure if they felt inspired by the 1988 classic The Blob, but seeing the design of these creatures it is quite possible, even though the design is quite different from the 80´s film. The people who are attacked by these creatures and turn into the living dead, may not bring anything new to the table, but that´s ok. I still think their zombie style work for this film, especially in a big toy store. This film also have some great characters, and let us begin with Ken Bates, played by Devon Sawa. He is the kind of guy you want to have in a store, to make everyone in a good mood. Then we have one of my favourite characters called Brian, played by actor Stephen Peeck. He is one of those actors who clearly have really good comedy timing, and it shows in this film. Legendary actor Bruce Campbell charms everyone with his character Jonathan Wexler. He feels like a perfect match for a character such as this one. There are more great characters along the way, but i think you might want to check them out yourself, to see if you will be surprised. Director Casey Tebo ( who directed the music documentary Steven Tyler: Out On A Limb ) manage to balance both horror and comedy combined, in a effective way, while managing to capture the spirit of holiday chaos at the same time. The only thing i probably would have wanted was a little bit more gore and blood, but other than that i can´t complain. Black Friday is a great choice if you feel like preparing for Christmas, so definetely make sure that the whole family gather and watch Black Friday in the living room on VOD. Who knows, if they do, maybe all their dreams will come true?

Rating: DDD