Black Friday (2021) Review

In a bid to prove that romcoms don’t have carte blanche on Christmas, fearsome festive films have been dropping regularly, much to the delight of genre fans.

For our friends across the pond, the end of the year also provides Thanksgiving to look forward to, with Black Friday (the first Friday after Thanksgiving where shops mark the start of Christmas shopping season with sales) nestled neatly in-between the two. Though originally an American concept, corporate greed spreads like a virus and the UK has come to adopt the notion, thankfully without the virus violence of the US (well.. mostly).

From director Casey Tebo, ‘Black Friday’ follows a group of All-Mart (see what they did there?) employees as they strive to survive the biggest shopping event of the year.

With so many videos of swarms of people shamelessly ripping others apart to get their hands on a discounted TV, it seems almost odd it’s taken this long for a horror film to depict this in a more literal sense.

Starring Final Destinations Devon Sawa and living legend Bruce Campbell, Black Friday is all the silly fun you would expect. Whilst some of the visual effects are a little ropey at times, the practical effects are pretty effective.

Though the narrative can get a bit meta in what it says on consumerism, arguably so is Dawn of The Dead.

One gripe I have however is how under utilised Bruce Campbell seems to be, with his character miles apart from the badass Ash we know and love him for.

Whilst it could have been so much more, I can’t say I ever expect too much from ‘holiday’ films, genre or not, but it’s a fun festive flick that’s perfect to curl up and watch with a mulled wine and a mince pie.

Signature Entertainment presents Black Friday on Digital Platforms 11th February

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