Horror movies have always been an avenue to explore the fears, tensions, and issues of whatever is going on in society at that time.  Anyone who complains when horror gets “political” is missing the point that it always has been in some way, shape, or form.

In Erik Bloomquist’s latest slasher film Founders Day takes an interesting premise normally reserved for civics class, and runs with it deep into slasher territory.  It has everything we horror fans love from a good low budget slasher: a small town filled with suspicious people, a creative killer design, and absolutely brutal kills.

Small Town Drama
We begin in a small New England town (Connecticut if we’re going by filming location) that is about to celebrate its tricentennial, as well as host a heated mayoral election.  The film is very careful not to say which candidate is from which major political party, but ultimately the incumbent mayor represents consistency and keeping things the way they are, and her opponent represents the winds of change and making a new and better world.

Together they both represent what is at the heart of all political discourse.  And along for the ride is a cast of interesting characters that all represent different people you’d find in a small town.  You have the rebellious teenage children of the mayoral candidates, the insufferable meanspirited teenagers that you root for the get killed by the masked killer, the sniveling mayor’s advisor played the director himself, and most famously William Russ of Boy Meets World fame as the wise elder history teacher and council member.”

Small Town Murders
Just as the mayoral race heats up, a masked killer, dressed in a judge’s robe, a white powder wig, and wielding a gavel as a weapon starts picking people off.  Like any small town murder/mystery slasher, everyone is a suspect, and everyone has a motive to disrupt the status quo of this small town.

As far as low budget slashers go, the movie has its fun with really fun and creative kills, including a lot of slashes to peoples faces and the realization that while a gavel is meant to be a tool to restore order, it’s also a deadly weapon made of wood that’s very capable of cracking heads open.

Granted, the film does show its budget at times.  However, we certainly don’t want to hold that against a movie.  It’s mostly well shot, aside from a few night scenes where the lighting isn’t great.  The script itself is also a bit all over the place and could have used some polishing up.

Some will likely criticize some of the characters as being cartoonish and annoying, but that just makes it all the more satisfying when you see them get killed.  And at its core, the entire film is a satire on politics, just through the lens of this small town, local mayor election.  The stakes seem far higher than they normally would be for something like this, but that’s kind of the point.

Small Town Politics
Ultimately, Founders Day explores a really fascinating idea, that will likely appeal extra to anyone who’s a history or civics buff.  Admittedly, that’s not everyone, but it’s cool to know that there’s a filmmaker out there, who’s interested in that idea as well and using a slasher film to tell a story like that.

In order to avoid spoilers, we don’t want to get too detailed.  But suffice to say, the movie makes you feel very uneasy and downright icky at one point, and it seems like that was the intention.  As if to hold up a funhouse mirror to society and politics, and via slasher tropes, show us all how disturbing all of this really is.

And again, it does all of this without ever mentioning either major political party, thus avoiding the audience from delving into tribalism.  It’s critical of tribalism in general, and shows us how monstrous we all become when things like status and power are at stake.

Overall, Founders Day has its flaws.  But they’re no more prevalent or egregious than what you’d find in slasher movies around this budget.  And it has something really interesting to say and really makes you think.

What did you think of Founders Day?  What are some of your favorite low budget slasher films?  Let us know in the comments!

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