The 90’s are back, folks (or at least the early 2000’s), and with them comes a parade of fun, crowd-pleasing Scream-esque horror comedies (including a few actual Scream movies). They’re not for everyone, and for the rest of my sadcore-loving horror fans there’s thankfully no shortage of both dark and oppressive horror like Damian Rugna’s When Evil Lurks and Speak No Evil and most of Ari Aster’s output. But if you need a break from all the bleakness and just want something to watch, maybe with friends, that won’t send you into a shame spiral, there are films like Carson and Erik Blomquist’s Founder’s Day.
It’s tricentennial season in the town of Fairwood, which coincides with a hotly-contested mayoral election. Harold Faulkner represents the challenger, the candidate vowing to bring change to the community. Against him is the power-mad Mayor Blair Gladwell (Amy Hargreaves) who is throwing her efforts behind a ‘stay the course’ campaign of consistency in leadership. With the town divided along partisan lines, everyone is implored to pick a side. This includes Faulkner’s daughter Melissa (Olivia Nikkanen) and son Adam (Devin Druid) as well as Melissa’s girlfriend Allison (Naomi Grace) and Gladwell’s daughter Lilly (Emilia McCarthy) who’s dating the town’s bad boy Rob (Tyler James White) but pines for Adam, her ex.
Melissa, after being built up to be a longer-term character, is the first to die, flung unceremoniously by the masked villain in this play, The Founder who sports a distinct look with a Black Phone-esque mask, powdered wig, flowing black robe, and wielding a deadly gavel. This sets up a scenario where we immediately know that no one in this film is safe, and the trail of bodies that’s about to pile up can include just about anyone. So, too, is the killer likely to be among the expansive cast.
In what could be either a feature or a bug, depending on your expectations, the film tends to vacillate wildly in tone throughout the middle portion. Scenes meant to be taken seriously or with considerable gravity are followed by or punctuated with line readings or reactions that fall squarely into the absurd. These shifts tend to be inelegant enough to elicit either a groan or (in my case) an unexpected chuckle when they occur. Most of the characters are more caricatures than fully-realized, and no one reacts to the steadily mounting body count with the seriousness that one would expect. Standouts are William Russ as Mr. Jackson, a history teacher with perhaps too much influence over the town, and Catherine Curtin’s hilariously incompetent Commissioner Peterson who is never seen without some candy alongside her.
Though some of the kills could use a second pass in the editing bay, Founders Day feels like a polished, big-budget horror comedy that punches above its weight, production-wise. A scene in which Amy Hargreaves is allowed to tear up a town meeting feels particularly well-shot given all its moving parts and smaller details like the design of the Founder’s mask get things mostly right. Great music is used throughout, as well.
Throwing subtlety out the window is probably the right tac here, since we don’t really get the sense of either candidates’ political leanings (left, right, or something else) beyond ‘change’ and ‘continuity’. Founders Day doesn’t ever have to delve into anything resembling the real political divides in America or otherwise, and keeping the scope to municipal politics means that bigger issues are never addressed one way or the other. It allows for the movie to keep things pretty light and paint with broad strokes, while eschewing the need to actually say anything. We’re here for fun, a few twists, and some gnarly kills, and we get all of the above.
In the end, Founder’s Day is a gavel-banging good time. It lacks perhaps the level of depth that you might be looking for, but makes up for it in cultivating a party atmosphere where all the guests are destined for a bloody end. We’re a day out from Halloween now, but if I’m looking for a light crowd-pleaser to watch with my pals next year, I’ll be casting my vote for Founder’s Day.
Founder’s Day played at the 2023 Toronto After Dark Film Festival.
