Founders Day is a 2024 political slasher tailored for any country on the verge of another momentous presidential election (aw shoot, that’s us). The Bloomquist brothers, Erik and Carson, steep their holiday horror in manipulative election-day drama that finds provocation in the shattered remains of a fair two-party system. The Bloomquists follow in Eli Roth’s footsteps, matching Thanksgiving in its festive touches, but it’s also a muddy whodunit with too many possible cooks (killers) in the kitchen (slaughterhouse). Erik Bloomquist’s direction is composed, and his co-written screenplay with Carson plays on politician-slamming themes, yet Founders Day is still a second-tier slasher that crosses too many plotlines in an overly complicated small-town massacre.
An idyllic suburbia bubble bursts when a heated mayoral race is interrupted by an unknown murderer’s killing spree. High school student Allison Chambers (Naomi Grace) finds herself in the middle of everything when her girlfriend Melissa is presumed slain by the maniac killing townsfolk with a gavel-knife weapon. Melissa is the daughter of candidate Harold Faulkner (Jayce Bartok), who is still vying to prevent incumbent Blair Gladwell (Amy Hargreaves) from winning another term. Allison is busy trying to capture a psychopath while the adults bicker over public appeal, trading their children’s safety for a few points at the polls.
The “Founders Day” theme in Bloomquist’s slasher is worth a bit of giddiness, down to the villain’s springy colonial-era wig. Much like how Roth’s John Carver slices victims like they’re moist turkey breasts, Bloomquist’s killer dons a smirking red mask with an antique hairstyle that feeds into a black judge’s robe. Victims are bludgeoned and stabbed with the attention-getting gavel weapon, and painted sayings are left around town to keep both Democrats and Republicans guessing. Anxious residents are distracted by agendas and false leaders in ways that mirror our nation’s growing divide between red and blue states, prominently commenting on how the seediest intentions can thrive in a fractured political environment.
While the at-odds electoral battleground makes for plenty of suspects behind the mask, Founders Day overpopulates its story with red herrings. There are the apparent marks like jealous-boyfriend type Rob (Tyler James White), the unhinged Trumpers like Hargreaves’ Gladwell, or the too-much-screentime pick, like teacher Mr. Jackson (William Russ). Where its blatant influences, such as Scream, develop tension that allows for multiple culprits to rationally exist, Founders Day feels more prototypical—like certain characters are purely red herring fodder. From poindexter assistants to shifty candidate sons, everyone has their reasons, but the story doesn’t do a tremendous job exploring them all in a suspenseful, fulfilling way that keeps the whodunit alive.
Bloomquist continues to mature as an indie horror creator, and Founders Day shows plenty of polish. There’s not much separating Founders Day from Thanksgiving just from scenic glimpses alone, and the film’s violent instincts don’t skimp on some brutal deaths by impalement (or worse). It’s not as complete a package as the Bloomquists’ haunted campfire throwback She Came from the Woods, but their evolution from the scrappier radio-wave thriller Ten Minutes to Midnight is evident. Founders Day is cleanly shot, gets sloppy when the blood flows and, while the story works harder instead of smarter, it comes with the stamp of a director on the rise.
Founders Day delivers on the tenets of holiday slasher madness: Festivity, deaths and a masked maniac. Remember, “festive” here looks a little different from Christmas or Halloween, because the Bloomquists’ screenplay is pure political exploitation at its heart (although one scene appeals to Valentine’s Day more than anything). There’s not much decoration you can do with an Anytown, U.S.A. mayoral race, which is where the left-versus-right antics overtake. Even though the screenplay is scattershot, the schlock and awe withstand, getting by on subgenre familiarity without vaulting to the next level. It’s never the sharpest nationalistic takedown nor the wittiest gore-soaked whodunit, but it still does the subgenre proud enough compared to less qualified competitors.
Director: Erik Bloomquist
Writers: Erik Bloomquist, Carson Bloomquist
Starring: Naomi Grace, Devid Druid, William Russ, Jayce Bartok, Amy Hargreaves, Tyler James White, William Russ
Release Date: January 19, 2024
Matt Donato is a Los Angeles-based film critic currently published on SlashFilm, Fangoria, Bloody Disgusting, and anywhere else he’s allowed to spread the gospel of Demon Wind. He is also a member of the Critics Choice Association. Definitely don’t feed him after midnight.