Founders Day

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.

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.

After going to watch this movie blindly (not knowing what it was about, not having a seen a trailer) I am convinced that all the negative reviews don't get it. I'm a huge horror nerd, and this falls under the so bad - it's good satire horror film. It's not good like last year's Thanksgiving, but it is definitely a fun movie with some solid kills and a good laugh here and there.

I'm certain this movie is not to be taken too seriously, or at least I hope not, and if you do just that - you're going to enjoy the ride.

My only negative review about this film, which is why I give it a 6/10 and not a 7 is that - it's 20 minutes too long. From the opening death scene to the next, there's just too much back story that could seriously be condensed. Same with the ending, they over explain everything. And in the middle of the movie, they have like a false ending that goes for too long. But, genuinely, it's still a solid movie.

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.

After a series of strange attacks, residents of a small town on the verge of a heated mayoral election are thrust into a deadly race to stop the maniac responsible for the actions as the sides of the debate turn into a sideshow trying to be the main culprit to follow through the whole affair.

There's very little to this one that's worthwhile. Among the few positives to be had here is the potential setup to be had with the relationships between the culprits in the middle of the election. The idea of the various characters enjoying a clandestine romance and trying to follow through with their plans to be together while the figure goes around knocking people off trying to incite a slew of high-intensity clashes between the two different factors in the political sphere that keep growing throughout the film. This is enhanced by the various attack scenes where an impressive mask and costume to hide their identity springs into action with a nice collection of ambushes involving a brutal death manner for its scenes that are pretty much the only positives to be had here. There are plenty of issues to be had here that are massive detriments to this one. The main factor is the utterly asinine storyline that tries to take the political leanings of its setup but is grossly mishandled. Trying to set up the warring factors of the debate as caricatures of the political spectrum who are more concerned with their standings in the days leading up to their election makes everyone out to be immensely unsympathetic due to the unrealistic nature of this behavior. It comes off as incredibly forced trying to make sure that they're grandstanding is seen as the key to their election rather than trying to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding them as it leads to several ill-timed points trying to keep this going. As well, there are plenty of issues to be had with the inability to properly work as a slasher film. The majority of the kills here are immensely brutal and gruesome in concept but the execution is grossly lacking, being shot so haphazardly that it's impossible to tell what's going on or just taking place off-screen to the point that it's impossible not to get any enjoyment out of these scenes. Since the kills are done with an impressive weapon and design, the inability to focus on this factor makes for a disappointing time here since the lack of focus on the kills is a factor that could've saved this one but due to the general lack of focus, it makes for a highly uninvolved time. The other factor here, which also ties into the lack of slashing, is the wholly disjointed and petty reasoning for the motivation behind everything. Due to the revelations made at this point, the idea of instigating the rampage as a way of getting revenge on the unscrupulous ex to get back at them for cheating on them is a backward plan much like the idea of killing off the friend for trying to better their lives without them. The means do not justify the results here, offering up tons of plot holes throughout this plan that get revealed along the way to put such a plot into motion, and with the whole affair being wrapped up in an ugly production scale, unlikable characters that we're supposed to follow, and way too long a running time there's a lot to bring this down.

Rated R: Graphic Language and Graphic Violence.