Founders Day

Not usually one for slashers, but this one was very fun.

Small town mayoral election disrupted by masked killer. The mask design was one of the scarier designs I've seen, and the weapon of choice was excellent (a gavel.... and a stilletto??). Great use (and over-use) of gore, especially the practical gags. Glad to see it wasn't all CG.

A stand-out in this movie was the commissioner played by Catherine Curtain. She seemed to blend several performances all into one, making for a hilarious, nonchalant figure of authority. Absolutely killed this role.

Also can't forget the two candidates running for office (Amy Hargreaves and Jayce Bartok). Both psychotic, both hilarious. Very relevant and fun subject matter to look into there. But I'd vote Faulkner. See Founder's Day!

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.

I mean, it was laughable I'll give it that. Acting was bad, like it looked so bad I think it was on purpose. Like Harold character. It had PG13 gore which I don't like, I prefer it when they go all the way and make it gruesome. In between stabbings it was so melodramatic, just sad sappy stories of people we don't get to know. I didn't care for any of the characters. This was a $1 Monday mystery movie so it didn't bother me as much. It was three fully crowded theaters which is rare, usually they only have one viewing of MMM.

From the first couple minutes I knew it was going to be crappy so that helped me tolerate it more. Second time seeing Erik Bloomquist in a movie and both are pretty bad. First was "Weekenders." So many things just didn't make sense. Felt like the mystery was solved halfway through so I was wondering what's next. Didn't really care who the killer was.

There was so many dumb scenes: -the girl and her dad Left her friend sleeping when the house was potentially being broken into -A police search and this kid hid behind a tree surrounded by cops😂and then showed up at the police station while still on the run -The car chase, the cop car drove off in the wrong direction to the car it was chasing -These guys were measuring dicks by using their dead kids -Also the mayor could've just dropped the pen, How on earth did she get stabbed???

There was much more but those are the few I remember now. This was so stupid. So much dumb stuff it was funny, the person I sat next to made this much better because we were just pointing out how stupid the movie was. Even if you left your brain outside the theater you'd still think it's dumb. This was so bad it looked deliberate, everybody on set must have known what they were making.

A small town is embroiled in a heated mayoral race. Tension is high with the upcoming Founders Day festival. Allison Chambers barely escapes from a killer wearing a Founders mask after just witnessing the murder of her girlfriend.

After the great successes of Halloween and Friday the 13th, Hollywood made horror movies out of every special day imaginable. This indie horror seems to be following that path whether in tribute or as a mindless work project. I recognize a few faces, but I don't really know these actors. This is marginal work, but I did enjoy guessing the mystery killer. The reveal is interesting but also problematic. While it is a little surprising, I don't think that person makes sense. That person would have to explain the unexplainable and there is no reason for the scheme. It is deflating to close out a borderline movie on a sour note.

The writing was so bad I was wondering if we'd have to walk out only five minutes in. It seems like something written by a high school student who waited until the night before it was due to start. Eventually it got bad enough to stay just so we could see the train wreck unfold.

Cliche storylines and horrendous acting throughout. Several scenes brought us to laughter, but not intentionally.

I do have to give credit, I didn't know who the killers were until the end(it's a cheap Scream rip-off from the start so not a spoiler). But it turns out that's only because it made no sense to the plot whatsoever.