Maybe politics do kill…
By: Aliya Karimjee
Founders Day premiered at this year's Toronto After Dark Film Festival (Courtesy of TADFF)
Does voting scare you? Do you fear a future with too much consistency that there will be no further development or one that includes drastic changes? That’s the case with Founders Day, a horror film where political opinions are a driving force to kill.
The Bloomquist brothers released Founders Day for its Canadian premiere at this year’s Toronto After Dark Film Festival.
Director-actor Erik Bloomquist, accompanied by his brother Carson Bloomquist, who produced and helped write the film with his brother, both got involved in the making of this bold and bloody movie. From the synopsis, we learn that this is a “series of ominous killings in the week leading up to a heated mayoral election.”
This American film’s title is based off of the actual holiday that celebrates the creation of the United States Declaration of Independence. Politics plays a big part in a killer’s mastermind’s plan.
Taking place after the murder of Melissa (Olivia Nikkane), one of two star-crossed lovers, continuous killings take place--even at a family festival celebrating the political holiday. From that incident, punishable pranks started taking place and people impersonated the killer to scare others.
After finding out who the murderer is, a big cliffhanger comes up making us wonder what could possibly happen after that event, but that is for you to find out. Who knew holidays were so dangerous?
Initially, I didn’t have high expectations from a political slasher. However, I fell in love with the movie as the plot kept me intrigued and always wanting to know what would happen next.
Throughout the flick, we learn the characters’ nature and personalities, attaching us to them through their various challenges. For example, Melissa’s girlfriend, Allison Chambers played by Naomi Grace, went through a series of obstacles and near-death experiences as she and her loved ones were threatened with death.
The plot twists made me want to scream and throw my computer at the wall with how unpredictable it was!
The visuals were also out of this world - such as the killer’s red creepily smiling mask, which I already knew would give me nightmares for days.
Like the primarily known poem “Roses are red, violets are blue…,” the murders followed the same poetic concept in red writing with subtle hints to help us determine the killer, making it more fun and interactive for us viewers.
Not only was the film fun, but it was wildly funny! The Bloomquist brothers know how to perfectly time the comedic beats. One character even cried of regret and ran half-naked in fear in a comedic way.
The only negative note I have is that there should be a content warning regarding a line that casually mentions sexual assault.
All that being said, the plot twist at the end was well thought out, the visuals were excellent, and the comedy was perfectly timed. If you’re a fan of the Halloween or Scream franchises, you need to add this movie to your watchlist!