Founders Day (film)

{{Short description|2023 American slasher film by Erik Bloomquist}}

{{About|the 2023 film|other uses|Founder's Day (disambiguation){{!}}Founder's Day}}

{{Infobox film

| name = Founders Day

| image = Founders Day (film poster).jpg

| alt =

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = Erik Bloomquist

| screenplay = {{Plainlist|

Erik Bloomquist
Carson Bloomquist

}}

| based_on =

| producer = {{Plainlist|

Erik Bloomquist
Carson Bloomquist
Adam Weppler

}}

| starring = {{Plainlist|

}}

| cinematography = Mike Magilnick

| editing = {{Plainlist|

Erik Bloomquist
Carson Bloomquist

}}

| music = Timothy Williams

| studio = Mainframe Pictures

| distributor = Dark Sky Films

| released = {{Film date|2023|8|18|Popcorn Frights Film Festival|2024|1|19|United States}}

| runtime = 104 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget =

| gross =

}}

Founders Day is a 2023 American slasher film directed by Erik Bloomquist. The screenplay was written by Bloomquist with his brother Carson Bloomquist and stars Naomi Grace, Devin Druid, William Russ, Amy Hargreaves, Catherine Curtin 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 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
William Russ as Mr. Jackson
Amy Hargreaves as Blair Gladwell
Catherine Curtin as Commissioner Judith Peterson
Emilia McCarthy as Lilly Gladwell
Olivia Nikkanen as Melissa Faulkner
Jayce Bartok as Harold Faulkner
Andrew Stewart-Jones 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 revealed that the Bloomquist brothers under the production of the Mainframe Pictures company had developed a film titled Founders Days.{{Cite web |last=Wiseman |first=Andreas |date=2022-11-22 |title='13 Reasons Why' Duo Devin Druid & Amy Hargreaves Among Cast For Slasher Pic 'Founders Day' |url=https://deadline.com/2022/11/13-reasons-why-devin-druid-amy-hargreaves-slasher-founders-day-1235179420/ |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=Deadline Hollywood |language=en-US }} 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 William Russ; 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 for the film began in September 2022{{Cite web |last=Lyle |first=Kaitlin |date=2023-06-13 |title=Murder mystery 'Founders Day' filmed in New Milford with 50 local extras: 'We had a great time' |url=https://www.ctinsider.com/newmilford/article/founders-day-movie-filmed-new-milford-ct-18091105.php |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=CT Insider |language=en-US }} and concluded in New Milford, Connecticut, 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, Catherine Curtin, William Russ, Naomi Grace, Olivia Nikkanen and among others.{{Cite web |last=Anderton |first=Joe |date=2022-11-22 |title=13 Reasons Why stars reunite for horror movie |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a42044218/13-reasons-why-amy-hargreaves-founders-day/ |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=Digital Spy |language=en-US }}

Release

Founders Day premiered at Popcorn Frights Film Festival in Florida, on August 18, 2023.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2023-07-21 |title=Founders Day - Popcorn Frights |url=https://popcornfrights.com/film/founders-day/ |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=Popcorn Frights |language=en-US }} The film was released theatrically on January 19, 2024, by Dark Sky Films in the United States.{{Cite web |last=Ritman |first=Alex |date=2023-11-13 |title=Dark Sky Buys Political Slasher 'Founders Day' for North America (Exclusive) |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/founders-day-slasher-movie-bought-dark-star-films-1235645385/ |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US }}{{Cite magazine |last=Collins |first=Clark |date=2023-12-12 |title=Happy Founders Day: Horror directors talk film's Boy Meets World star and Scream inspo |url=https://ew.com/founders-day-trailer-boy-meets-world-william-russ-scream-inspiration-8414136 |access-date=2024-07-21 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |language=en-US }}

Reception

=Critical response=

{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|49|5.2|39|Founders Day brings a few clever bits to bear on its '80s-inspired slasher story, but its scattershot tone and an overreliance on horror clichés prevent it from leaving much of an impression.|ref=yes|access-date=November 23, 2024}} On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 39 out of 100, based on reviews from eight critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.{{Cite web |title=Founders Day |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/founders-day/ |website=Metacritic |publisher=Fandom, Inc. |access-date=2024-07-21 }}

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."{{Cite web |last=Harvey |first=Dennis |date=2024-01-19 |title='Founders Day' Review: Political Backstabbing Turns Literal in Semi-Comedic Slasher |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/founders-day-review-1235875922/ |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=Variety |language=en-US }} Simon Abrams of RogerEbert.com 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."{{Cite web |last=Abrams |first=Simon |date=2024-01-19 |title=Founders Day |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/founders-day-movie-review-2024 |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=RogerEbert.com |language=en-US }} Writing for The A.V. Club, 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."{{Cite web |last=Jackson |first=Matthew |date=2024-01-15 |title=Founders Day review: Gruesome fun for slasher devotees |url=https://www.avclub.com/founders-day-movie-review-1851164289 |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=The A.V. Club |language=en-US }}

=Accolades=

class="wikitable sortable"
Year ! Award ! Category ! Nominee(s) ! Result ! class="unsortable" \| {{Ref heading\|multi=no}}
2023 \| Toronto After Dark Film Festival \| Film Most Want to See a Sequel to \| Founders Day \| {{won}} \| {{Cite web \|last= \|first= \|date= \|title=Toronto After Dark 2023 Awards \|url=https://torontoafterdark.com/2023-awards \|access-date=2024-07-21 \|website=Toronto After Dark \|language=en-US }}

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

! Award

! Category

! Nominee(s)

! Result

! class="unsortable" | {{Ref heading|multi=no}}

2023

| Toronto After Dark Film Festival

| Film Most Want to See a Sequel to

| Founders Day

| {{won}}

| {{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Toronto After Dark 2023 Awards |url=https://torontoafterdark.com/2023-awards |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=Toronto After Dark |language=en-US }}