Founders Day is often a tedious slog of a slasher film that I actively begrudge admit some quality moments in its final act. Moments the rest of the film absolutely does not earn and I barely can recommend the film… but there are moments. There are moments.

The flick is about a small town with an upcoming tricentennial festival and a local election. Too bad there’s a masked slasher running around randomly killing teens.

The biggest problem with this film is that it has very little driving focus or energy. There’s no motivation or direction on why there’s a masked killer running around and, indeed, at one point they appear to kill their killer and yet the movie hand-wavingly acts like they haven’t. Even the characters don’t have a firm grasp of what’s going on.

With a lack of motivation or revenge or goal, it’s just a bunch of teens getting slaughtered for maybe something to do with local politics? The tricentennial? The killer’s gimmick is a powdered wig, robe, and a judge’s or mayor’s gavel. It’s a theme looking for a purpose.

These things eventually make sense at the end, but without motivation, it’s a long sit to get to it. But at least the film has a uniquely cynical ending that I appreciate. And while the majority of the film is drab and self-serious, there are occasional actors who got very different notes from the director so sometimes they inject some chaotic, random fun.

At least I can say the movie is very well-produced. It certainly looks better than most of the direct-to-streaming movies I’ve been woefully renting. So credit for competence behind-the-camera… but not so much on the script (or some of the acting).

This is most certainly not a great or even a very good film and your patience for its dithering may determine how much fun you have. I didn’t have much patience for it and felt throttled by the film’s lack of conviction… but at least it kind of works a little by the end.

Score: 71