I Found ‘Founders Day’ Playing at a Theater Near Me: Here’s What Happened

January 23, 2024

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Founders, Keepers (CREDIT: Mainframe Pictures/Screenshot)

Starring: Naomi Grace, Devin Druid, William Russ, Amy Hargreaves, Catherine Curtin, Emilia McCarthy, Olivia Nikkanen, Jayce Bartok, Andrew Stewart Jones, Tyler James White, Erik Bloomquist, Adam Weppler, Kate Edmonds, Dylan Slade, Arun Storrs, Patrick Zeller, Shravan Amin, Callie Beaulieu

Director: Erik Bloomquist

Running Time: 106 Minutes

Rating: R

Release Date: January 19, 2024 (Theaters)

Founders Day is an indie slasher about a series of masked murderer killings in a small town centered around a particular occasion (specifically, a mayoral election). To paraphrase 90s David Spade, I liked it better the first time I saw it… when it was called Thanksgiving.

But hey, it’s nice to see William “Alan Matthews” Russ getting some work and showing the kids how it’s done. As for the matter of whether or not I would like my hometown or my current city to celebrate their own versions of Founders Day: alas, I can’t say I’m convinced.

Grade: 10 Elections out of 23 ½ Subterfuges

Original Streaming Movie Catch-Up: Some Positive Thoughts About ‘Cam’

July 7, 2020

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Cam (CREDIT: Netflix)

Starring: Madeline Brewer, Patch Darragh, Melora Walters, Devin Druid, Imani Hakim

Director: Daniel Goldhaber

Running Time: 95 Minutes

Release Date: November 16, 2018 (Netflix)

Cam is a very sex-positive movie.

That might sound like an obvious thing to say. ESPECIALLY if you’re familiar with the synopsis. Madeline Brewer (the star of the film) plays Alice, who works as a webcam model. That is to say, she puts on live shows on the Internet of herself performing in a sexual manner. But then her feed is commandeered by someone (or something) that looks exactly like her, and she has to do her darndest to recover it.

There’s no tsk-tsking about Alice’s chosen profession, even during moments when you think there might be. Sure, there are a few bozos who overstep boundaries, but that’s more than counteracted plenty of support. For example, when the truth about Alice is revealed to her mom, you’re primed for her reaction to be, “You have brought great shame to this family.” But instead, she recognizes an increased confidence in her daughter as she slips into her online persona and basically says to her, “I’m so proud of you.” There’s actually a bit of miscommunication in that moment, but it’s nevertheless nice to have that boost when you’re in the fight of your life against a ghost (or whatever the doppelgänger is).

Human beings are sexual creatures. Supernatural entities that steal our identities can’t stop that. But it sure is scary when they try to.

I give Cam 400 Tokens.