‘Founders Day’ Review: Political Rage in a Small-Town Slasher
Founders Day is an entertaining slasher that under-delivers on political satire, but showcases a fun new slasher villain.
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What is Founders Day About?
Founders Day is a slasher movie set in a small town with politically-charged atmosphere. The story takes place in the city of Fairwood where the political divide is getting heated. Adding fuel to the already combustible situation is the disappearance of Melissa, daughter of the candidate challenging the incumbent mayor’s re-election. Melissa is missing and presumed dead at the hands of a masked killer, and the killings continue as Fairwood’s tricentennial celebration, Founders Day, draws near.
Founders Day was directed by Erik Bloomquist, who also acts in the movie in a supporting role. Erik and his brother Carson Bloomquist cowrote the script for Founders Day. The Bloomquist brothers previously directed and cowrote the campground horror comedy She Came from the Woods (2022), the supernatural horror movie Night at the Eagle Inn (2021), and the vampire film Ten Minutes to Midnight (2020).
Founders Day stars Naomi Grace, Devin Druid, Amy Hargreaves, Jayce Bartok, Andrew Stewart-Jones, William Russ, Emilia McCarthy, Olivia Nikkanen, Adam Weppler, Tyler James White, Erik Bloomquist, Catherine Curtin, Kate Edmonds, and Dylan Slade.
Founders Day Review
Though labeled as a “political slasher,” the political satire angle is overstated by many reviewers and even by some of the film’s marketing. Founders Day does not have the same focus on political commentary and satire as something like The Hunt (2020) or even The Purge franchise, nor does it ever seem like it’s trying to be as political as those films. The politics in Founders Day are somewhat vague, and it’s there mostly as a way of adding an increased sense of unease within the community. The movie doesn’t make any real statements about political affiliations other than maybe “politicians and political rage are bad,” which is a very safe thing to say. Frankly, minimizing the political satire is a good thing. We get enough political rage in real life, and we don’t necessarily need more of it in a slasher movie that already has a surprisingly complex plot.
Founders Day is a whodunit style of slasher with a mystery inspired by the likes of Scream (1996) and its sequels and imitators. There are a good number of plausible suspects introduced, and trying to guess who the killer is can be fun if somewhat frustrating. There’s a great moment a little more than halfway through the movie that reshapes the mystery by answering some questions while providing plenty of new ones. It’s an extremely well-done sequence that reestablishes interest in a plot that might be starting to feel too conventional for some.
Unfortunately the final fifteen minutes of the movie are spent over-explaining everything, and almost all of those fifteen minutes are needed to spell out the convoluted plot. Avoiding specific spoilers, it turns out that the mystery is too complex to be truly compelling. The basic motivation for the killing spree is interesting, but there are numerous red herrings baked into the plot which makes it all feel unsatisfying. All of the misdirection makes sense in a weird way when it’s explained, but it also makes attempting to solve the entire mystery as it’s happening fairly unrewarding.
Where Founder Day excels is by being a slightly cheesy slasher movie. In many ways Founders Day feels like an homage to the early-to-mid-90s era of slashers when the killers’ gimmicks became over-the-top and the tone of the films hovered between horrific and comedic. The killer in Founders Day, known as The Founder, would fit right in with the killers found in movies like Uncle Sam (1996) and Dr. Giggles (1992), and even later slashers like The Tripper (2006). The Founder has a memorable presence with their weird smile, powdered wig, and bladed gavel, and it would be easy to build a low-budget franchise around the character.
The tone of Founders Day does fluctuate a little. The movie isn’t really a comedy, but some obvious attempts at humor are made that end up feeling slightly odd in the context of the drama and horror happening around it. Also, the drama can veer into melodrama at times, but then other dramatic moments might actually be attempting black comedy. It’s rather inconsistent, and it probably would’ve helped if Founders Day had leaned more into any specific tone rather than trying to navigate between many. To be fair though, lots of 90s-era slashers fall into the same traps, so it’s at least consistent with other movies of its kind.
Overall though, Founders Day is enjoyable. If you’re a big fan of slasher movies, you’ll be used to many of the imperfections in Founders Day, and they might not even bother you much. The final third of the movie stumbles towards the finish, but the first two-thirds of Founders Day are quite good.
Who Will Enjoy Founders Day?
Founders Day is a good movie for slasher fans who want something that feels like a throwback to the pretty-good slashers of the 1990s. The kills in the movie are nicely done (with a combination of practical effects and CGI), the main character is likeable and sympathetic, and the story is ridiculous in a low-budget slasher kind of way. Maybe most importantly, the killer is interesting. For a light and fun slasher flick, having a killer you want to watch is of great importance, and Founders Day delivers in that category.
Further Reading
- Prey for the Bride Review: A Fine Slasher that Begins Better Than It Ends
- Slay Review: A Goofy Horror Comedy with a Fabulous Heart
- Best (and worst) Horror Movies of 2024, Ranked
- Best Slasher Movies of All Time
- Best High School Horror Movies
