Sommerleigh Pollonais, Horror Head Writer
Of all the days of the weeks none is more beloved than Fridays. So fun it has its own acronym and a restaurant chain named after it, T.G.I.F (Thank God it’s Friday) which is also heads up that the weekend is about to commence. But it’s not the only time we mention this particular day as Black Friday is a shopaholic’s delight and Friday the 13th brings out the superstitious side in all of us. So what do you do with a day as iconic as Fridays? Why make a bunch of movies about it of course!
Whether its horror, comedy, dramas or thrillers, there are a bunch of them out there and some of them are legit classics. Counting them down, here are my TOP 5 FAVORITE “FRIDAY” MOVIES:
#5 Black Friday (1940)
Ah old movies, where you can take any premise no matter how crazy it sounds and make it into something modern day audiences will consider a classic. That’s not to say 1940’s Black Friday isn’t a good movie. And it may not be the best of film legends Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff’s works, but it’s definitely worth a look.
I mean how often do you see the amalgamation of gangsters and horror? In the film Karloff plays a mad scientist (must’ve been a nice change of pace) named Dr Sovac who transplants the brain of a gangster into his friend’s body to save his life. The side effect being his friend develops a split personality that makes him dangerous. The original story was actually titled Friday the Thirteenth before being changed, so while it may be more sci-fi thriller than straight-up horror, it might just be the most Friday of all the Friday movies on this list.
#4 Black Friday (2021)
I’ve never experienced the shopping madness of Black Friday because I shop online, like a sane person. Whether you’re American or not you’ve probably heard or seen the stories of people going bat-crap crazy on the biggest shopping day of the year, and this horror-comedy takes that insanity and does what any horror-comedy would, and that’s turn it into a literal nightmare.
The film stars Devon Sawa (Idle Hands, Final Destination), Michael Jai White (Spawn) and the legend himself, Bruce Campbell, as employees in a toy store who are trapped when a zombie/alien infection turn their shoppers into monsters…or at least worst monsters than they were before (ba dum tish!) Think Cooties meets Slither and you’ll have a decent idea of the gross-out comedy and insanity to be found here.
Just another reason to shop from home, this Black Friday the madness is straight-up murder! (There’s your tagline movie. You’re welcome).
#3 Freaky aka Freaky Friday the 13th
Of all the movies on this list, none has been remade/rebooted/reimagined as much as Freaky Friday has. The original version is a family friendly comedy released in 1976, utilising a simple premise of a mother and daughter that switch bodies and live each other’s lives one strange Friday. It spawned made for television movies, then a hit remake in 2003 starring Lindsay Lohan and scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis. But in 2020 Christopher Landon and Michael Kennedy, the same guys who saw the horror potential behind the story of Groundhog Day (Happy Death Day) did it again with Freaky, a story of a teenage girl who swaps bodies with a serial killer.
Freaky was a slasher-fest that utilised the Freaky Friday twist in unique ways and ended up being a hit, which means we’ll probably be seeing a sequel sometime in the future. And I for one can’t wait to have myself another Freaky-ass Friday.
#2 Friday
What? I never said this was a horror list did I? As Dave Chappelle would say “Gotcha bi*&h!” No Friday list would be complete without this eponymous movie included on it.
In 1995 F. Gary Gray and Ice Cube as well as DJ Pooh came together and made comedy gold; scratch that, platinum! Launching the film career of comedian Chris Tucker and giving a whole new meaning to what Fridays could be like, this is one of those movies that proves you don’t need a ton of money to make something truly unforgettable. Chock full of memorable characters like Craig, Smokey, Deebo, Big Worm and a ton of others, Friday may be remembered more for the comedic antics of Tucker but it also showed people a side of “ghetto” life they probably never give any thought to, and that’s the ordinary people who live there.
And for those who still think Friday doesn’t belong on a horror blog, I remind you of the conclusion where Craig takes on the neighborhood bully Deebo. It’s a complete tonal shift (that works) where they drop the comedy and for a moment things gets hella serious. And if that’s STILL not enough for you then how about Craig’s girlfriend Joi (Paula Jai Parker). I don’t know about you but I find that woman to be a straight-up nightmare!
Honourable Mention: Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th
Just kidding. This movie blows.
#1 Friday the 13th (And the Series It Birthed)
You knew it was gonna be on this list before you even clicked to read it.
Not the first slasher movie ever but it IS the one film people think of when asked to name one. And I’m pretty certain if you were to ask any youngsters the origins of Friday the 13th and all its superstitions, they would probably think this film and it’s iconic hockey-masked antagonist, Jason Voorhees, had something to do with it.
Not only did it help put slasher films on the map, it moulded the landscape for what these movies would look like even to this day. And most horror fans (including myself) will tell you that Friday the 13th and their love/introduction of horror goes hand in hand. Even though we haven’t had a new one in ages (not counting the 2009 remake or the countless fan films) no movie has made the word or specifically the day known as Friday more famous. And for that alone it takes spot numero uno on my list.
So which of these films is your favourite? And you can check out more great horror lists below:
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever, and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes.
Double Tap Baby!