Slashers often contain political elements, but we rarely see a slasher about politics. Enter Founders Day, from co-writers Carson Blomquist and Erik Blomquist (who also directs, and co-stars in the film).
The town of Fairwood is celebrating its tricentennial and there’s a mayoral election on the horizon. The incumbent, Mayor Blair Gladwell (Amy Hargreaves), is campaigning on consistency, while her adversary, Harold Faulkner (Jayce Bartok), is advocating change. Divided along campaign lines are their children: Faulkner’s put-upon lesbian daughter Melissa (Olivia Nikkanen) and his son Adam (Devin Druid) who used to date Gladwell’s daughter Lilly (Emilia McCarthy).
The star-crossed lovers of competing political parents is a tantalizing premise, but Founders Day packs innumerable other characters and subplots into the mix. Adam and Lilly’s failed relationship involves bad boy Rob (Tyler James White), there’s plenty of plotting among the town council involved in the election, and even Melissa’s girlfriend Allison (Naomi Grace) has a tragic backstory involving her dead mother. The interplay between the adult and teen storylines occasionally feels at odds, particularly once dead bodies start piling up.
The first to go is Melissa, who is attacked and thrown off a bridge by Founders Day’s villain, who wears a tell-tale wig and brandishes a gavel that doubles as a knife. It’s a solid costume: the mask is evocative, and the weapon serves multiple purposes in different attacks. The kill scenes are mostly fine: a movie theater kill is well staged, though the killing blow needed another take, while a classroom attack and a twofer at city hall are captured better. And yes, a campaign sign is used as a murder weapon at one point.
As the film’s de facto lead, Grace’s performance is lacking. The actress struggles to convey emotion, particularly in the scenes after Melissa has been dispatched (Allison frequently looks confused rather than sad or scared). Ironically Grace has stronger chemistry with Druid’s Adam, particularly when a displaced Adam has to crash at Allison’s place because he’s fighting with his father.
The film’s politicians are also a mixed bag. Both characters are presented as politicians first, and parents second, though Hargeaves clearly understands her character’s campy sensibility and leans into it. Bartok’s performance, on the other hand, is too severe, which renders the character grating and cartoonish.
Supporting players fare better, including William Russ as Mr. Jackson, the well-respected high school teacher who refuses to weigh in on political discourse, and Commissioner Peterson (Orange is the New Black’s Catherine Curtin), who is always eating candy.
With a sprawling cast and a few rocky performances, Founders Day biggest opportunity to stand out in a crowded slasher field is its heavy emphasis on politics.
By focusing on municipal politics, Founders Day successfully avoids wading into real life Democrats vs Republicans discourse. Unfortunately while the interchangeability of Gladwell and Faulkner’s points of view is assuredly part of the film’s critique, it does render Founders Day’s message somewhat apolitical and both sides-y.
This is most evident in the pre-title climax. After Melissa’s attack, Allison runs into a downtown street crowded with people. Faulkner’s supporters stand on one side of the street, facing down Gladwell’s. As Allison screams for help, she’s surrounded by both groups, each of them so eager at the expense of the other side that neither actually addresses the issue (ie: helping the traumatized teen).
It’s not subtle, but that’s the point. Founders Day’s ultimate take-away is that the current state of political campaigning has gone too far and we need to reboot how elections and candidates are handled in order to get back to way the Founding Fathers intended (hence the film’s title and the killer’s costume).
The crowd scene highlights one of the film’s other challenges, which is how budget limits the scope of the visuals. The overhead aerial shot of Allison being overwhelmed by the town’s divided political groups reinforces the thematic message, but visually the impact is lessened because it looks like there’s only around 30 people present. Other establishing shots suggest there’s less than fifty people at large public events, which makes Fairwood feel much smaller than it is clearly meant to be.
These little challenges add up over the course of the film. In addition to the sprawl of character subplots and uneven acting, there’s one glaring plot development that undercuts the film’s pacing heading into the last act. When the killer is unexpectedly revealed, the reaction of other characters and the events that immediate follow don’t add-up; there’s a gap in logic that suggests the script needed another quick pass. So while the film’s cynical resolution is surprising audacious, this plot hiccup and the predictability of the killer reveal is less satisfying.
Overall Founders Day is a mixed bag: the cynical political elements are novel and the killer’s mask is visually distinct, but the film is held back by its performances and some bump plot mechanics. It’s worth a look, but would have benefitted from some tightening up.
Founders Day is currently on the festival circuit, including the Toronto After Dark Film Festival.
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