It was only a matter of time before somebody came out with a trippy, blood-soaked Tricentennial slasher movie with a masked killer in a white wig, toting a gavel for a weapon. And during an election year no less. There will be disorder in this court, and you will love it. Welcome to Founders Day, the offbeat horror comedy from Bloomquist Brothers Erik and Carson, the filmmakers who brought us She Came from the Woods and Night at the Eagle Inn through their Mainframe Pictures.

The daring political slasher revolves around the small town of Fairwood, which is shaken by a series of gruesome killings during a Founders Day weekend celebration prior to a pivotal mayoral election. Accusations abound, and the threat of a masked killer has everybody on edge as the residents rush to uncover the truth.

Erik Bloomquist directed the project, which he co-wrote with brother Carson. The all-star cast includes Devin Druid (13 Reasons Why), Naomi Grace (NCIS), William Russ (Boy Meets World), Amy Hargreaves (13 Reasons Why), Catherine Curtin (Stranger Things), Emilia McCarthy (Skymed), and Olivia Nikkanen (The Society). Fans of horror comedies, whodunits, and subgenre slasher films with big scares and twists will appreciate this wild ride. Meanwhile, Devin Druid joined Erik Bloomquist in this exclusive MovieWeb interview to share more about the project.

Embracing the Tormented Teen
Founder’s Day Release Date January 19, 2024 Director Erik Bloomquist Cast Naomi Grace , Devin Druid , Amy Hargreaves , Catherine Curtin , Emilia McCarthy Runtime 1hr 46min Writers Erik Bloomquist , Carson Bloomquist

With 2.8M Instagram followers, Devin Druid became one of the breakout stars in Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why playing social outcast Tyler Down. He went to star in other series and films, including Louder Than Bombs alongside Jesse Eisenberg, the film festival hit Cam, and Imperium with Daniel Radcliffe and Toni Collette. He reunites with his 13 Reasons Why costar Amy Hargreaves, who played protagonist Clay’s (Dylan Minnette) mother Lainie.

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“The film is much fun, and you’ve got so many amazing things from the horror standpoint that the horror slasher fan is going to love and recognize while also turning some things on its head and being fresher,” he said of Founders Day, noting that Hargreaves helped make the connection with the Bloomquist Brothers. “Through that recommendation and the power of Amy Hargreaves — you listen to her — I had this great conversation with Erik and Carson. I started out in the indie film world,” said Druid, who added:

13 Reasons Why was an amazing experience because you had all of the pros of working on a huge-budget series, where you’re working for six months at a time. You worked with new directors. You’re really sinking your teeth into it with all these amazing directors from each block who all came from these amazing film backgrounds, Tom McCarthy [of The Station Agent], Jessica Yu [of Fosse/Verdon], Kyle Patrick Alvarez [of The Stanford Prison Experiment], and so many people like that.”

“They did a great job on 13 Reasons Why of keeping the balance between, ‘Yeah, we’re moving fast, we’ve got a big budget, but we’re working like indie filmmakers here.’ That always kept me on my toes, and I learned so many valuable lessons over the years that helped me out here,” added Druid.

Putting a New Spin on the Slasher Flick

Erik Bloomquist calls Founders Day a “love letter” to slasher films, the autumn season, and small-town life, all rolled up into one. In the movie, an ominous attack early on sparks the mayhem that follows as the election brouhaha rolls on. In the vein of Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, the killer can be anybody. There are some great twists here, particularly with the costumes, wig, and gavel, which has a secret compartment for a — of course! — knife.

“I certainly can’t deny that early horror influences for me and my brother include Scream, but what we wanted to take from Scream specifically was this sense of mischief and fun, and something in the air,” Bloomquist shared. “So, we grabbed that, and then it just evolved over time.” He added:

The first draft was over 10 years ago, and it’s just gone through four or five major incarnations. The last piece was finding this political backdrop for it, which I think made everything click into place and really sharpened the silliness, the satire, and the scares. It made sense and hit this needle point of tone. The last piece was just getting a cast that understood that and was down to play with that.

Deciding Upon the Gavel as a Weapon

The Bloomquist Brothers wanted to make the masked killer ominous but specific, yet not “gimmicky.”

“We liked the idea of a silhouette of a Founding Father, but we didn’t necessarily want to do the Uncle Sam mask. I had this thought of an uncannily fused together comedy/tragedy mask, so that you’re playing into the political theater of it all, and there’s this weird expression on his face, and one side is sad, and one side is happy. And the wig was just a really good way to frame it because it just didn’t feel right to have that classic hood with this one.”

The gavel came about because the filmmakers wanted a specific weapon that audiences hadn’t experienced before. “Not just a hunting knife, as much as I love a good hunting knife kill,” Bloomquist quipped. “We wanted something specific and blunt. And the gavel did that. And we had our cake and got to eat it too with the switchblade inside of the base [of the gavel]. We got all the pieces, and before we rolled, we tried some stuff on and juiced it up, and tried to make it all coalesce.”

Of the masked killer, Devin Druid added: “I interpret the theatricality of the look as a commentary on the absurdity of small-town regional mayoral politics, and how big of a deal this is for so many people, at least for the characters in the film.”

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“The back of the movie is these two groups of people that are both yelling and not really saying anything,” Bloomquist went on to say. “They’re latching onto buzzwords, but that’s kind of the point. What they’re doing is spectacle. They are performing, themselves. Having some degree of performance and theatricality with the way the killer approaches the look of it all ties into that and can be very cutting and fun.”

Past Influences and Future Projects

Druid is a longtime horror fan. “My mom was a child of the ’70s and ’80s, and growing up, she loved showing me [films] like April Fool’s Day and My Bloody Valentine, and so many of the classics,” he said. “When I grew up, I loved Scream, loved Freddy Vs. Jason, and all the Friday the 13th movies.”

“We have this incredible horror renaissance right now,” he added. “Just this past year I saw Talk to Me, which was one of my favorite horror movies of the year. So many people are bringing great innovation, and there’s an amazing kind of evolution of the classics. You don’t fix what ain’t broke. So, getting to play Adam as the stoic, angsty teen going through things… you can kind of see different archetypes through different films growing up. A lot of inspiration from different Matthew Lillard performances [was] a kind of gateway to pass through here.”

Related: Here Are the 10 Most Iconic Death Scenes in the Scream Franchise

In the meantime, Druid just wrapped up his first short film that he produced with his girlfriend Annie Marie Elliot, who directed the project about a tormented young man who falls into the final act of a cult leader’s ritual. “It’s our first proof of concept horror film,” he said, “so we’re trying to make the feature-length version next. We made the short for around $50,000, and it’s really good. I’m really excited about it. We have @agonistfilm on Instagram, you can check it out.”

As for Bloomquist, he affirms his “love” for the genre space and is busy as ever with brother Carson.

“It would be fun to do a genre hybrid, but with a unique balance. At this point, it would be interesting to keep playing in this similar field with more time to do extended sequences because I think we really push the envelope with what we have. I would love to be able to just do bigger, fuller sequences within what we’re doing. And I love using music with that too. There are some really big musical moments [in the film]. We also have a romance movie coming out sometime later this year, but I’d like to do maybe a dark thriller.”

For now, expect big thrills in Founders Day, which will be released January 19.