Possibly a first for the holidays-themed horror calendar, this low-rent but enthusiastic movie takes the trials of the worst shopping day of the year for workers at a toys megastore and throws in James Gunn's Slither, as a meteor shower delivers some kind of alien creature/parasite that starts to take over our intrepid band of stereotyped and mismatched co-workers via straightforward practical effects. There is great stunt casting of committed horror B-movie stars Devon Sawa and Bruce Campbell who are reliably effective here, but generally performances lack a sense of timing and authenticity in delivering a somewhat simplistic script. Black Friday itself is hardly a truly memorable or celebratory day, and this film is unlikely to become an annual repeat play like Halloween or the original Black Christmas, and if it is aiming to be a critique of modern American consumerism, this film is hardly Dawn Of The Dead. Black Friday is perhaps not funny enough to be a full-on horror-comedy, nor is it gory enough to satisfy true horror fans, but its ambition and enthusiasm shown for its limited resources is notable.
