''Founders Day'' is a 2023 American

slasher film A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic ...

directed by Erik Bloomquist. The screenplay was written by Bloomquist with his brother Carson Bloomquist and stars Naomi Grace, Devin Druid,

William Russ William Russ (born October 20, 1950) is an American actor and television director. He played Alan Matthews on the sitcom ''Boy Meets World'' (1993–2000) and appeared in the television series ''Wiseguy (TV series), Wiseguy'', the soap operas ''A ...

, Amy Hargreaves,

Catherine Curtin Catherine Curtin is an American actress. She is best known for her role as correctional officer Wanda Bell in the Netflix comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019). Other notable recurring roles include '' Insecure'', ''Str ...

and Emilia McCarthy. The plot follows the lives of a group of citizens who are pursued and killed by a mysterious masked figure in the middle of a political campaign. The film premiered at the Popcorn Frights Film Festival on August 18, 2023. It was given a

limited theatrical release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few cinemas across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

in the United States on January 19, 2024, by Dark Sky Films. ''Founders Day'' received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

In the small New England town of Fairwood, a heated political campaign is underway between two mayoral candidates on the town's 300th anniversary. In the middle of it all, the candidates' inner circle becomes the target of a masked serial killer in a judge's suit who begins to torment everyone in the city.

Cast

*Naomi Grace as Allison Chambers * Devin Druid as Adam Faulkner *

as Mr. Jackson * Amy Hargreaves as Blair Gladwell *

as Commissioner Judith Peterson * Emilia McCarthy as Lilly Gladwell *Olivia Nikkanen as Melissa Faulkner *Jayce Bartok as Harold Faulkner *

Andrew Stewart-Jones Andrew Stewart-Jones is an English actor, best-known for playing the role of Crispus Allen in '' Gotham''. Career Stewart-Jones first came on to the television scene in 2003 in HBO's ''Sex and the City'' as Jules. Next he guest starred in 2005 ...

as Thomas Chambers *Tyler James White as Rob Donahue *Erik Bloomquist as Oliver Hull *Adam Weppler as Deputy Finn Miller *Kate Edmonds as Britt *Dylan Slade as Tyler Allen *Arun Storrs as Nancy Faulkner

Production

The project was announced in November 2022, when ''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...

'' revealed that the Bloomquist brothers under the production of the Mainframe Pictures company had developed a film titled ''Founders Days''. At the time, the film was described as a political mystery satire that addresses the bloody murders in a small town on the eve of the mayoral elections. Additional co-producers of the film include Amy Hargreaves and

; also Mike Chapman, Fatima Hayward and William Kay of the company Blue Finch Films were announced as executive producers, which was also in charge of the international sales of the film for its screening. The

principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

for the film began in September 2022 and concluded in

New Milford, Connecticut New Milford is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town, part of Greater Danbury, as well as the New York Metropolitan Area, has a population of 28,115 as of the 2020 census. New Milford lies north of Danbury on the ...

, on November 22, 2022. Filming took place in the Town Green, the John Pettibone Community Center, Bank Street, Bank Street Theater and New Milford Town Hall. Additional, it was announced that the main cast of the film was made up of Devin Druid, Emilia McCarthy, Amy Hargreaves,

, William Russ, Naomi Grace, Olivia Nikkanen and among others.

Release

''Founders Day'' premiered at Popcorn Frights Film Festival in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, on August 18, 2023. The film was released theatrically on January 19, 2024, by Dark Sky Films in the United States.

Reception

Critical response

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 39 out of 100, based on reviews from eight critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. Dennis Harvey of ''Variety'' wrote: "Siblings Erik and Carson Bloomquist's latest has surface polish, but the intended mix of current-events satire and horror doesn't quite gel." Simon Abrams of ''

RogerEbert.com ''RogerEbert.com'' is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times ...

'' gave the film 1.5/5 stars, writing: "A couple of pedal-to-the-floor melodramatic twists suggest that ''Founders Days'' might've been a bolder or just meaner genre movie, but its toothless satire, like its timid horror drama, sadly doesn't cut it." Writing for ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'', Matthew Jackson gave the film a positive review, saying that: "''Founders Day'' is a slasher movie blast, a clever, brutal little movie that's capable of pleasing diehard horror fans and newcomers alike."

Accolades

References

External links

* * *{{Letterboxd title, id=founders-day 2020s American films 2020s English-language films 2020s high school films 2020s serial killer films 2020s slasher films 2020s teen horror films 2023 films 2023 horror thriller films 20th Century Studios films American high school films American horror thriller films American serial killer films American slasher films American teen horror films Films shot in Connecticut Films about home invasion English-language horror thriller films 2020s satirical films American political satire films American political thriller films Holiday horror films 2020s political thriller films English-language crime films Films scored by Timothy Williams (composer)