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Film: Founders Day
Year: 2023
Director: Erik Bloomquist
Writers: Erik Bloomquist and Carson Bloomquist
Starring: Naomi Grace, Devin Druid and William Russ
Review:
This was a movie that I saw coming to theaters by me. My wife, Jaime, was asking if anything was showing that she might be interested in. I tossed this out there, but she’s not a slasher fan. When I realized that this was coming to the Gateway Film Center, I went ahead and made it a point to see. It being a 2024 wide release helped as well. I’ve also now given it a second watch to see where I sat with it as well.
Synopsis: a small town is shaken by a series of ominous killings in the days leading up to a heated mayoral election.
We start this out with Allison Chambers (Naomi Grace) picking up Melissa Faulkner (Olivia Nikkanen). Melissa’s father is trying to become the new mayor and he’s running on that this town needs change. His name is Harold (Jayce Bartok). He is married to Nancy (Arun Storrs). Harold believes that how Melissa acts and dresses could cost him the election. Part of it being that she is a lesbian and is seeing Allison.
These two head to a theater that Harold owns. His son, Adam (Devin Druid), is a manager there and he’s working. He helped Allison with getting a gift for his sister. It is here at the theater so she goes in to pick it up. Allison also used to work here. She’s leaving town to go to college soon. We also get to meet Lilly Gladwell (Emilia McCarthy) who used to date Adam. She is now seeing Rob Donahue (Tyler James White), who also works here. They’re making out on the counter and Adam asks them to knock it off. Rob is annoyed, but Lilly acknowledges that he’s right.
Allison and Melissa then walk to a local bridge to put a padlock with their initials. These two disagree since Allison is leaving soon. Melissa wants her to stay. This is interrupted by someone in a truck. Melissa calls them out and is attacked. She is thrown over the bridge. Allison flees to get help.
This tragedy then rocks the town. It is interesting though how people manage it. Blair (Amy Hargreaves) is the mayor and going against Harold. She worries the death of his daughter will give him at edge at the polls. She also decides with the help of the council to still have a Founders Day celebration. There is also Mr. Jackson (William Russ) who is on the city council and a teacher of civics. He is respected by most and hated by some. This includes a punk couple, Britt (Kate Edmonds) and Tyler (Dylan Slade).
The murders don’t stop there. They rock both sides of this town’s politics as it seems that the children of the candidates are the targets. The killer doesn’t stop there though as Commissioner Peterson (Catherine Curtin) and her deputies try to get a handle on this before it gets too out of hand.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I’ll start is that I’m not always the biggest fan of slasher films. It tends to be the heavy hitters that work for me. With that said, I liked what this one does. Seeing that this was using the holiday of Founders Day was intriguing. The killer has a cool mask that is black and red. It does have the wig you’d see with the founding fathers. I also didn’t realize they had a gavel with a hidden knife in it until we got farther into this. These elements were all good so I settled in quickly.
Now I read the synopsis ahead of seeing this. Knowing that this was based around a mayor election intrigued me. I figured that politics would play in. What is great here and something that I told my buddy after the movie ended, I’m so glad that they didn’t specify which political party Gladwell or Faulkner were. They both exhibit the problems of the two-party system and we see the worst of them. I love this idea as both sides can watch this and hopefully look at how this is ruining America. It feels like we, the audience, fall in line with Allison and Mr. Jackson, as they seem rational. They also know the system better than anyone else.
I won’t give away who the killer or killers are, but I’ll say is that I love their motive. What I’ll say is that we know from the opening kill that Harold’s daughter of Melissa is attacked. This makes Gladwell tell her right hand, Olivier Hull (Erik Bloomquist who also co-wrote and directed), that she fears this will help Harold win the election. Her daughter of Lilly gets targeted and so does Adam, Harold’s other son. There are other teens and then adults being attacked as well, but I like the idea that it could someone wanting to hurt the candidates. The killer could also want them taken out for how they’re acting. Then to end this section out, right before the reveal, I did guess who the killer was. This is a troupe that we’ve seen before and not even that long ago in another slasher film, but that didn’t ruin this for me. I went along for the ride.
Next then I think I’ll shift to discussing the acting. For me, slashers either need good characters or kills. Grace is good as our lead here. My only issue is that she makes odd facial expressions and it threw me off. Other than that, she’s smart and does well in piecing together who could be behind this. I like Druid as her friend. He is getting out like Allison. He does have the town pulling at him though. Russ is great as their wise teacher. There are people who never left and still look to him for advice which I thought was good. He’s snarky too. Hargreaves and Bartok are great as the candidates. I’ll say again that I love the lines are blurred so I couldn’t tell which side of the party system either of them are on. That helps not alienate potential viewers. McCarthy, Nikkanen, White, Edmonds and Slade were all good as other teens here. I like Curtain, Andrew Stewart-Jones, Bloomquist and Adam Weppler as adults who are intertwined in the story. The acting was solid across the board, so I’ll credit that for what I look for.
All that is left then is filmmaking. I thought that the cinematography was good. There are good set pieces like in the school, the movie theater and town hall. I do think framing shots is good to hide the seams of the kills. They go brutal which I do love in a slasher. I’d say that puts this higher for me by doing that. This seemed to go practically for the kills, which I love. I thought I saw a bit of CGI for the blood spray, but not enough to ruin this. There is just the aftermath of one kill that left me wanting more. There is creativity there as well. Other than that, the soundtrack fit what was needed.
In conclusion, I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. I’m not always the biggest slasher fan, but I rather enjoyed what this one did. Using Founders Day feels like a throwback to the 1980s for this genre. I like that there is a good commentary here that doesn’t alienate either side. We have solid enough characters and the motives for the killings was good. I’d say this was well made. The framing, set pieces and the kills leading the way there. Cinematography was also solid. If you like slasher films give this a watch. This is a modern one that I rather enjoyed. With a rewatch, this one didn’t hold up as well as I would have liked. I still think this is solid though.
My Rating: 7 out of 10