Fantastic Fest 2021: Casey Tebo's BLACK FRIDAY Acquired by Screen Media, Set for November Release
The holiday season has come early for Black Friday director Casey Tebo and writer/executive producer Andy Greskoviak. According to Variety, their highly anticipated horror venture (starring genre icons, Bruce Campbell and Devon Sawa) has been acquired by Screen Media.
This news is very opportune considering the talented duo’s film premieres on September 24th at Fantastic Fest. In a clever bit of marketing, audiences will be able to see the alien invasion thriller in November, just in time for its “namesake holiday.”
The official logline for the movie for those who aren’t aware of Tebo’s project:
“On the busiest shopping night of the year, a group of disgruntled toy store employees must defend themselves from legions of holiday shoppers when a mysterious alien parasite turns them into monstrous creatures hell-bent on a murderous rampage.”
While the director feels that his production contains elements of Gremlins and Krampus, manager of global acquisitions and co-productions for Screen Media, Logan Taylor likened the creative’s effort to George A. Romero’s, Dawn of the Dead. By all accounts, this indie flick looks like it could be a future cult classic.
After all, the distributor is very comfortable with marketing movies in the horror genre. Their team is responsible for Willy’s Wonderland (the Nic Cage vs homicidal animatronic mascots chiller), Black Water Abyss and the documentary, Cleanin’ Up the Town: Remembering Ghostbusters.
Black Friday marks the return of veteran actor, Bruce Campbell to the silver screen. His last appearance in theaters was an uncredited cameo as Ash Williams in Fede Álvarez’s take on Evil Dead in 2013. Recently, the thespian has chosen to focus on projects for streaming services like A.P. Bio and the Netflix animated zombie series, The Last Kids on Earth.
Devon Sawa, another familiar face to horror fans can currently be seen in the SyFy series, Chucky (based on the Child’s Play series from Don Mancini). The film also stars Michael Jai White (Spawn) and Ivana Baquero (Pan’s Labyrinth).
Seth Needle, executive VP of global acquisitions and co-productions for Screen Media along with Logan Taylor brokered the Black Friday deal with Jay Cohen at the Gersh Agency. More than likely, an official release date will be on the way, so stay tuned.
Fantastic Fest 2021 begins this Thursday in Austin, Texas and ends on September 30. For more information, visit their website at the following link.
