The Purge came out almost exactly one year ago last summer. The concept was startling. March 22nd from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am on March 23rd all crime in the United States is legalized. Only on this one day a year can you do whatever you want to whomever you want. What if such a night actually happened? Scary thought, right? That is the premise of THE PURGE. A government sanctioned holiday put in place by the current regime. As a result crime rates are at an all-time low, the unemployment rates are shrinking below 5 percent and the country is enjoying its greatest era of prosperity in United States history. All thanks to the Purge. Unleash the beast. Your government urges you to participate... please kill your neighbors and be cleansed. Thank you.
SPOILER ALERT
If you haven't seen the first Purge film you are still alright to see this new one. In the first film we follow a family of the middle to upper class, husband, wife, son, and daughter, as they prepare for the annual commencement of the Purge. They batten down the hatches, lower steel blast doors over their doors and windows, set the security systems on high, and pray for 6:01 am to come swiftly. The son watches the security cameras and sees a helpless man banging on their door for help. He let's the man into their home not knowing a thing about him. A blast further up the street knocks out the power. The lights in the house go dark. The man disappears. Next there is a knock at the door by a man in a mask with an axe. He demands they give up the man taking refuge inside or they will force their way in and kill every one of them. When the family cannot find the mystery man in their house, the people outside tear down their steel shutters and destroy their security systems. What follows is a night of terror. A frightening home invasion thriller.
It wasn't the goriest film I had ever seen nor was it the most intense. The suspense is effective however. The unsettling glee with which those participating in the Purge display is disturbing and frightening. The film is very effective in setting the tone for this terrifying world. The actors do a great job and the story is tight and concise. It takes a widespread concept and narrows it down to a simplistic night of survival, never overreaching or overextending itself. Basically it keeps the story simple and relatable. It has a few strikingly intense moments like the fight sequence in the pool room. For the most part however it dances just on the edge of graphic violence opting instead to build suspense rather than gruesome spectacle.
Where the film got to me was in its morality tale. I was yelling at the screen saying how stupid that kid was for letting that guy into their home and endangering the entire family. The father ends up paying the price for his son's decision. But as the film goes on I realized what the movie reflected inside me. It made me realize that I wasn't a good person. Saving that man outside showed that the boy still had a semblance of humanity and goodness within him beyond self-preservation. He from the start to the end was a good person. The things I was feeling and saying showed me that I wasn't as good a person as I thought. The film illuminated that for me and has since changed my point of view. For that I give the first film high praise. Rarely have I seen a film that called me out on my own bullshit. I'll give THE PURGE a rating of 6 out of 10. You'll have to watch the movie to see how it plays out for the rest of the family.
Yesterday I saw THE PURGE: ANARCHY. From the trailers it looked like we were going to see the Purge from a wider vantage point on a much larger scope. This alone was enough to get me to go see it. The concept of the Purge is still strikingly visceral and the opportunity to see its widespread effects proved irresistible.
MORE SPOILERS
It isn't a sequel but rather a companion film. We don't see the family from the first film but we do end up seeing the man who they brought into their house (he makes a cameo at the end of this one). Other than that this is an entirely separate story following a new group of characters. This one also explores more of the whys surrounding the Purge and the whos that benefit most from the Purge. The film blatantly states it is the poor lower class who suffer and the rich upper class who get richer as a result. The film basically screams in your face that if the Purge were real it would be we the viewers who'd most likely suffer. Then a new element is thrown into the mix: Black semi-trucks hauling long trailers stalk the streets. Soldiers in riot gear storm out of the trailers, break into tenement houses and kill everyone inside. Project after project they clear out and wipe out. These soldiers are working for the government. So right there the conspiracy and government distrust skyrockets!
As I was watching the movie I felt a familiar joy well up inside me. I said to myself that actor Frank Grillo, the actor portraying our nameless badass anti-hero, would make a great SNAKE PLISSKEN. I had this thought early on in the film. The further we go the more I thought of Escape From New York and how the world of the Purge could easily take place in the same world as Escape From New York. My wife read to me a review of this new Purge film in which the reviewer pointed out the same similarities and did one better. This movie could also take place in the same universe as the film THE WARRIORS. If you know me then you know how much I love both Escape From New York and the Warriors. And if you love these two films like I do then you'll no doubt enjoy The Purge: Anarchy.
In summary THE PURGE: ANARCHY scores high on being an homage to 80's apocalyptic satire securing it as a cult favorite for the new generation. It will entertain greatly throughout the whole of the film but it lacks the personal shout out that the first film had. With government distrust very high right now the film plays even more to those sensibilities. All in all, I liked it.
Overall Ranking: 6 out of 10.
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE!
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