It must be a trend as of late to duplicate 80’s slashers. There’s something overly satisfying about a writer/director that truly understands what slasher fans want. Chris LaMartina is one of those directors and his film President’s Day is a wonderful exercise in retro filmmaking.
I have a huge soft spot for the slasher genre; It’s just such a shame that most of them fall short of my expectations. I don’t really ask for much and I don’t think most slasher fans do either. 1. A sick killer costume 2. Nasty gore/inventive kills 3. A fairly simple non-.M Night Shyamalan ending. President’s Day delivers the goods, despite its low budget.
This is a fantastic little movie with solid performances all throughout the cast, which is never really expected for such a small film. I feel like this movie is a few decades short of cult status. It can hang right with the greats of the 80’s and has a body count to match even the toughest of the one film wonders.
My only true complaint with this film is the look. I know budget restraints probably held back filming on a really nice camera. Don’t get me wrong, it’s edited fantastic and is far superior to stuff filmed directly on video like Killjoy (I know I reference that film a lot, but the look of it is inexcusable).
This is one that you should really check out. It’s a great film for slasher fans! I give this film 2.5 ballots out of 5.
