Casey Tebo’s Black Friday! is already shaping up to be one of the more distinctive premieres coming to Fantastic Fest next week. Set in a toy store, the movie sees Bruce Campbell and Devon Sawa star as part of a group of employees forced into action when sales-hungry customers turn into monsters. We now have a few images to enjoy from Black Friday!, courtesy of Bloody Disgusting, ahead of its launch at the festival.
The stills, which you can catch below, show Campbell as the store manager, described in press descriptions as “bumbling” and “uptight”, making this a bit of a departure for the actor’s usual style. Indeed, the bowtie and moustache look is pretty far from the 63-year-old’s turns in the Evil Dead franchise, but the role will still likely play up to his comedic talents.
By contrast, the other shot appears to come after things have turned sour in the toy shop, with staff surrounded by broken-up furniture and ominous splashes of blood. Here’s the official synopsis:
“Everyone knows Black Friday is the worst day to work in retail. Something about a good deal turns even the sanest consumer into a wild animal. But the usual chaos and violence pales in comparison to what the employees of the “We Love Toys” store must face this time around. Devon Sawa stars as a down-on-his luck father in the midst of divorce, lamenting his job as a low-level toy store employee. He and the other rambunctious, overworked crew of staffers are prepared for a typically exhausting Black Friday full of shoppers hungry for a deal, but they could never have expected the shoppers to turn into blood-hungry maniacs with only one goal: Come together to feed and combine their powers into something full-on Lovecraftian. While Sawa continues his successful renaissance in the genre world with a refreshing turn as the cynical leader of the employees, it’s the inimitable Bruce Campbell who really surprises as the bumbling, uptight manager, Jonathan: a decidedly less heroic character than we’ve come to expect from him. Add in a healthy splash of outrageous gore and some ooey-gooey creature effects, and this is the soon-to-be-cult holiday horror movie you never knew you needed.”
Director Tebo previously co-produced Seth Green’s directorial debut Changeland, and has a long career as a graphic artist. He is also a frequent collaborator with Aerosmith, and directed a documentary, the cannabis and CBD-themed Barely Legal, in 2020. As well as Campbell and Sawa, additional members of Black Friday! cast include Ivana Baquero and Michael Jai White, while Robert Kurtzman is among the names involved in the practical effects for the feature. Sawa is having a particularly busy year, with a turn in Chucky coming up this fall.
For Campbell, Black Friday! should be a fitting continuation of his extensive association with the horror genre, and will give fans something to anticipate to after he confirmed that he wouldn’t be appearing in Evil Dead Rise. We’re certainly keen on seeing whether Black Friday! can live up to its holiday premise and follow in the tradition of Dawn of the Dead and similarly gruesome satires of capitalism.
