Exclusive Interview: Filmmakers Erik and Carson Bloomquist Talk Founders Day

Erik and Carson Bloomquist are award-winning filmmakers who have emerged as exciting and much-needed voices in the industry with projects including Night at the Eagle Inn, Long Lost, and She Came from the Woods. This August, they make their return to Popcorn Frights with their latest feature, Founders Day.

Following a series of ominous killings in the days leading up to a small town’s heated mayoral election, accusations fly and the threat of a masked killer darkens every street corner. As their paranoia grows, the residents must race to uncover the truth before fear consumes the town. Founders Day stars Naomi Grace, Olivia Nikkanen, Devin Druid, Amy Hargreaves, Tyler James White, Adam Weppler, and Erik himself!

Pop Culturalist had the pleasure of speaking with Erik and Carson about Founders Day, how the project has been a decade in the making, and bringing their unique point of view to this beloved genre.

PC: Carson, Founders Day was the first feature that you both ever wanted to make, and the first draft was created in 2011. How has this script evolved over time?
Carson: A lot actually. There was no immediate political component to the film. Originally, it was a community-set murder-mystery. There was a mayor. There was no campaign. There was no election happening during the movie. So that was the big shift. There were a few other draft iterations when we were developing it, but then there was a good break for a number of years before we revisited it recently and said, “Let’s look at this again and contextualize it in the world that we’re living in and include that component too.”

PC: Erik, in addition to writing, producing, and directing, you’re also an actor. How have your experiences in front of the camera lent themselves to the work you’ve done as a director and the way that you collaborate with your cast, especially on a project like this where there are so many twists and turns?
Erik: Generally speaking, I direct the way that I do because I have that acting background. I’m very actor-focused and storytelling-focused but also aware of where to dig in, what language to use, when to back off, and things like that. I learned a lot of the technical side of it just by the nature of doing it.

In terms of something like this where there are a lot of characters and a lot of cast members, it starts with finding people who resonate with both the material and the way in which we work and having conversations about the places that I feel very strongly about but also finding places where it’s like, “This is your spot to find breathing room,” and things like that.

But I’m very clear with people. There were a lot of times when we were making these movies when we only had a couple of takes. We can’t do five or six takes because of the timing of it all. So it’s making sure people are comfortable with that and that there’s trust there. So when I say that we have something, they know we do, but if they really need something, I’m sensitive to that too. I think my acting background is part of that. In terms of me acting in scenes within the movie, I often find that it’s helpful to direct from within by setting a tone or a pace based on what Carson and I feel the writing needs so that I can be a metronome within a scene and drive in that way too depending on what the project is.

PC: Founders Day started out as a love letter to the films that you grew up watching, which is a throughline in a lot of the projects that you’ve both created. Which films have had the biggest impact on your development as storytellers?
Carson: I have the Scream VHS here. I also have the limited edition VHS here as well.

Erik: It was very important to us that we weren’t ripping it off though. It’s not Ghostface.

Carson: It’s not, “What’s your favorite scary movie?”

Erik: It’s not meta-referential, which we love, but that’s not our movie. That’s their movie. We wanted to make our own film of intrigue, curiosity, and mischief. “Mischief” is a big word that we feel when we write these movies, and there’s a real sense of community in them. So those were the elements that we took: the fun danger.

PC: Carson, something that you’ve both done so brilliantly with this film is that it feels nostalgic while also being such a refreshing take on this genre. Was that something that you were both mindful of when you were writing this feature? How challenging was it to toe that line?
Carson: Thank you very much for that.

Erik: It’s good to hear that because that was the hope! But we don’t know until we hear it from people.

Carson: Right. With that too, there’s this wisp that we want to have with the town too.

Erik: It was challenging but true to us.

Carson: Our sensibilities are catered to that framework. We wanted to make this a modern movie. Our last horror film took place in 1987. It was a throwback summer camp film. In this, we explicitly wanted it to be modern-day but include some sort of aesthetic framework where you’ve experienced something like this before. There’s an older charm to some of the locations. We liked the idea of a town that is a character in itself because it implicitly has that older feel to it. Thematically, it makes sense too with it being Founders Day and the different generations between the adult characters and the youth cast.

Erik: I realized that some of our influences—or at least parallels to them—made it into the film too. I was recently rewatching Jaws, either right before production or during, and the first act of Jaws feels very similar in its beats to Founders Day in terms of the external threat to a closed community and how you deal with that threat.

So I think there are these classic pieces to it. Neither of us are anti-trope. We just think that they have to fit and be specific. Because people watch movies because there’s a degree of familiarity. We’re never subverting for the sake of subverting, but we’re also not afraid to do that. We want to be true to the story and find moments when it makes sense.

We want this to feel in some places comfortable and in some ways dangerous. We don’t want to make feel-bad movies. We want to make movies where you can feel bad and then feel good and then feel confused and then feel like you’re solving the case with everybody too.

PC: Erik, every iconic slasher film has a terrifying killer at its heart. What was the inspiration behind the mask and the choice of weapon?
Erik: We wanted to make it…

Carson: …unique but not gimmicky.

Erik: It was hard with how many movies there are.

Carson: I think this is distinguished. We wanted to evoke that thematic imagery with the gavel and what that can represent and how violent that can be, as well as the theatricality of the mask being a tragedy…

Erik: And a comedy at the same time.

Carson: It’s infused together. The red color is a striking injection of both the political theme and the idea of blood. It all morphed into something that felt very correct for this.

Erik: We didn’t want it to be like, “Oh, it’s a Ben Franklin mask,” but we wanted it to evoke an older feel. We call the villain in the movie the founder. We do. The characters don’t. That’s how it’s referenced in the script. I agree with Carson about the theatricality of the mask and the coloring. We wanted it to be different, but we also didn’t want to look like try-hards. We loved what the designer did and the conversations that we had. Carson is on camera in it. It’s fun to wear.

PC: There’s so much more than meets the eye with each of these characters. They’re all so flawed and complex. As you were both writing this project, did you have these particular actors in mind? What was that casting process like?
Carson: Some we did. Some were like, “This is definitely this person who we have a working relationship with. It’s right for them. We know they can crush it.” We had this foundation of characters.

Erik: Tell him the Peterson story.

Carson: The Peterson story is that we originally did this concept trailer. The Peterson character was the chief of police. It was a dude and there wasn’t a comedic wink to the character. But I had this idea that it could be an interesting take if she embodied what Catherine Curtin ended up bringing to this character, which was levity and also this intensity at the same time. When we were discussing this character, we found she’s so convinced she’s going to solve this case. To her, it’s a foregone conclusion that she’ll figure out who is behind this.

Erik: Catherine said she drew a lot from Columbo. She says it’s Columbo meets the female Chief Wiggum. That’s a tough line because you want to play it straight, and she does. She’s right on the needle point. But that’s something that we changed. It changed from a grizzled seventies cop, which is valid and could be fun. But this was a fun color to bring to it.

PC: This film has been decades in the making with it making its premiere at Popcorn Frights. Is there a particular scene that you’re excited for audiences to see?
Erik: Yes.

Carson: A few.

Erik: I won’t say which. There are definitely some kill scenes.

Carson: And surprises.

Erik: There are moments that I’m looking forward to seeing how they play in the theater.

PC: There are so many universal and timely themes in this film. We’re seeing another golden age for horror as a medium to tell cool stories, and Founders Day is the latest addition to that change. Why do you think this genre lends itself to this type of storytelling?
Carson: That’s a great question.

Erik: I think fear is universal and timeless.

Carson: That can manifest itself in different ways throughout time.

Erik: It’s a very personal thing and a very community-driven thing at the same time. It’s a genre that awakens the imagination. You can attack these things in a way that feels dangerous but safe at the same time. Hopefully, we did that without it feeling preachy. Because if you have messaging, that’s okay and cool, but you don’t want…

Carson: …the tone to be pandering.

Erik: If you make a message movie, I think people are less apt to receive it.

Carson: This movie is a conversation piece.

Erik: It’s a way to add authenticity to it. Because you can grab people by the heart before you grab them by the head. I think that’s the way to have conversations like that.

Carson: I remember when Get Out came out. Jordan Peele curated a list of social thrillers that inspired him. There was something interesting about that because it was this huge mix. Scream was on there and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. These themes manifest themselves in different genres in different ways. Society in some ways changes a lot, and in some ways, it’s always the same. There’s an interesting way to tackle that through our subgenre specifically that’s unique and interesting.

Erik: It sensitizes you as well. It puts your sense on edge so you’re more receptive because everything is at 100. You feel everything. You sense everything. Hopefully that happens with our film

Make sure to follow Erik (Twitter/Instagram) and Carson (Twitter/Instagram). Founders Day will make its world premiere at Popcorn Frights.