Founders Day
A small town is shaken by a series of ominous killings in the days leading up to a heated mayoral election.
- Released:
- Runtime: 106 minutes
- Genre: Horror, Mystery
- Stars: Devin Druid, Emilia McCarthy, Amy Hargreaves, Catherine Curtin, William Russ, Naomi Grace, Olivia Nikkanen, Jayce Bartok, Andrew Stewart-Jones, Tyler James White, Erik Bloomquist, Adam Weppler, Kate Edmonds, Patrick Zeller, Shravan Amin
- Director: Erik Bloomquist
Comments
- Platypuschow - 3 June 2024
Founders Day: Copy and paste slasher
Plot
A small town is shaken by a series of ominous killings in the days leading up to a heated mayoral election.
Cast
Naomi Grace leads competently, Devin "13 Reasons Why" Druid unintentionally comes across as creepy as he was in that and William Russ outshines everyone.
Verdict
Though I'm a horror fanatic slasher isn't exactly my favorite sub-genre, and the reason? They're all too similar, I grew up with 70's-80's slashers and they gradually died out because of that reason.
Founders Day tries to reel in some of that nostalgic magic, but in doing so falls into the same trap! It's so generic, so uninspired, we've seen this before a thousand times (Probably not an exaggeration). It doesn't color outside the lines for a moment, it doesn't dare wander off the path and delivers something that will only be appreciated by people who have never really experienced many slashers and therefore won't predict the whole thing straight out of the gate.
And don't even get me started on that ending, I absolutely didn't "Get" that in the slightest. I need an explanation, what were they thinking?
Rants
I don't like Erik Bloomquist, it's not a personal thing, it's not a talent thing, I don't in fact know what it is. He's just one of those people who when they come on to the screen I wince ever so slightly, feel a level of discomfort and if I had any children would cover their eyes. Therefore a movie written, directed and starring him never really stood a change.
The Good
William Russ is great
The Bad
Bland kills Offensively unoriginal Dreadful finale. - snorebark - 19 March 2024
Such a fresh take on the slasher form
I really enjoyed this movie! I reviewed it for Book and Film Globe if you want to read more. This was campy, satirical, and fun. Plus, Alan Matthews (Cory's dad on Boy Meets World) is on it. William Russ is a great actor and it was really fun to see him in this role.
Spoilers!
I love the weapon of a gavel with a knife, incredible. The mayoral race is insane. I genuinely was shocked at some of the killers (it's a large group) and truly had no idea they had done it. You know the plot is interesting when you kinda wanna see more murders just to get more of the killers vibe. I don't know how to explain it. Excited to see more from this team. - kellynjahn - 22 January 2024
Entertaining if you don't take yourself too seriously
The film was entertaining overall. Totally sufficient for a light, fun night out. It will give you and your friends plenty to discuss afterwards.
The plot was unfocused, but not difficult to follow. The twist at the end was somehow both surprising and predictable at the same time.
For the most part, the characters were bland and the audience did not get to know them well. That might be due, at least in part, to the mediocre acting.
Upon further reflection, I think that the movie was supposed to be a comedy moreso than a horror movie. I wasn't scared or shocked at any point during the film, but I did find the cheesiness to be funny.
The best part was by far the cinematography - excellent lighting and camera work.
