America The Violent

The Purge

Ever wonder what it would be like to kill someone and reap no consequences? Don’t worry me either. Though I am sure there are some people out there that might daydream about the possibilities. I personally think that someone would have to do something pretty tragic to me and my family for me to contemplate murdering someone. The people in Universal’s The Purge however, have the opposite opinion than I do.

The Purge is set in the not too distant future where crime is almost nonexistent and the unemployment rate is at an all-time low. The reason for such domestic success is because ‘The New Founding Fathers’ have sanctioned a holiday where laws a placed on hold for all citizens from 7pm through 7am. This means arson, theft, and even murder are committed without penalty from the government. Not every American participates in the Purge.  James Sandin (Ethan Hawke Training Day) and his wife Mary (Lena Headey Game of Thrones) are such Americans. With their two kids, James and Mary lock down their home with a very high tech security system and hope to wait out the night. Things change drastically when James’ son, Charlie, spots a man screaming for help and decides to provide shelter to the stranger. The stranger is a Purge target for a wealthy group looking to ‘cleanse their souls’. After being given an ultimatum by the leader of said group, James must decide if his family’s safety is worth a total stranger’s life.

I viewed this movie to get a little background on the new sequel that has graced movie theatres for almost a month now. Now that I have watched this film, I am little perplexed on why a sequel was made. Yet again I have watched a movie where the running time doesn’t quite fit with the plot of the film. Due to the 85 minute running time, the film doesn’t ever find its identity. Marketed as a horror film, the film turns from a home invasion horror to an action film in a blink of an eye. But I use the phrase ‘home invasion horror’ very loosely because the stranger is allowed access to the Sandin home and once the Purgers break in, that is when the film turns into an action movie.

I guess the one think that bothered me the most is the writer/director’s view on American society. Are we as a people really this petty? The reason for the Purgers to want the stranger is because he is of a lower status. Maybe it is just my ignorance into thinking that we aren’t that trivial or immature to think that we should kill someone over differences’ of opinion or economical class status.

The acting in the film wasn’t terrible. Not really enough screen time for any of the actors to really build any real roots into the movie. The film flips from character to character and shows the audiences mere peeps of what is happening to them before it changes. I will say that if we did see a little more of the Leader (Rhys Wakefield Sanctum) it wouldn’t have been a bad thing. Wakefield is on screen enough to show the audience how creepy his character is. I’m sure given more screen time he would have been talked about like Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange.

No stranger to the action genre, writer turned director James DeMonaco (The Negotiator) tries to turn something small into something unique. DeMonaco would have succeeded if this film could find itself. I do believe that he did a good job setting up the action scenes and is successful with a few thrills. I was hoping throughout the whole movie for a little bit more explanation. Where did The Purge come from? Was American really that deep in the toilet to succumb to these extreme measures? And after wondering all that through the movie, I just came to a point and thought, “This must be how ignorant, mindless apes this writer/director must think we are.”

85 minutes of wondering why and trying to decide if I hate it as a horror movie or if I think it isn’t a bad action movie just led me to come up with one word…meh.

The Verdict: Only If Nothing Else Is On.