The Purge (2013) Universal/Horror-Thriller RT: 85 minutes Rated R (language, strong disturbing violence, mature themes) Director: James DeMonaco Screenplay: James DeMonaco Music: Nathan Whitehead Cinematography: Jacques Jouffret Release date: June 7, 2013 (US) Cast: Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Max Burkholder, Adelaide Kane, Edwin Hodge, Rhys Wakefield, Tony Oller, Arija Bareikis, Tom Yi, Chris Mulkey. Box Office: $64.5M (US)/$91.3M (World)
Rating: ***
As I think about The Purge, I’m reminded of two short stories I read in college. The first is “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” (1973, Ursula Le Guin) which concerns a utopian city in which the happiness and good fortune of its inhabitants depend on a single child being forced to live in filth and misery. The other is “The Lottery” (1948, Shirley Jackson) in which the residents of a small town choose one person, by way of a yearly lottery, to be stoned to death in order to ensure a bountiful harvest.
The new horror-thriller The Purge deals with a similar theme. In order to ensure the happiness and safety of the people, the government of a futuristic United States has established a yearly event called “The Purge”, a 12-hour period in which all criminal activity (including murder) becomes legal. In essence, it allows everybody to get all of their negative feelings out of their system so they can live the rest of the year in peace. It sounds like a living nightmare to me, but it makes perfect sense to the characters in The Purge who justify the violence and mayhem by saying that it’s necessary.
Writer-director James DeMonaco (Staten Island) paints a bleak portrait of a future in which a great deal of ugliness exists beneath an attractive and affluent surface. It’s a scenario so disturbing that it’s sure to leave a few audience members shaken by the time they leave the theater. Unfortunately, this is undermined by the movie’s high predictability factor. In terms of plot development, there aren’t any real surprises in The Purge. There’s a twist at the end of the picture I saw coming from the beginning; it was only a matter of time before it actually happened.
Set in the year 2022 (less than 10 years from now, watch out!), the US has been taken over by The New Founding Fathers of America. They’re the ones responsible for instituting the annual Purge. It’s really a means of population control designed to eliminate those deemed a burden on the system (i.e. the lower classes). Even though all laws have been suspended for a night, there are still rules that must be followed. High-ranking government officials are off limits. Only certain types of weapons may be used. All emergency services- police, firemen, medical help- have also been suspended so everybody is on their own for the night.
Meet James Sandin (Hawke, Sinister), a wealthy family man celebrating a successful year at work. He’s made a fortune selling security systems that turn one’s home into a virtual fortress. He plans to spend the night of the Purge securely locked in his lavish home with his wife Mary (Headey, Dredd) and their two children, Zoey (Kane) and Charlie (Burkholder, Parenthood). There’s a degree of tension stemming from James’ disapproval of his daughter’s older boyfriend Henry (Oller) and his refusal to allow them to date. The action begins soon after James locks down the house for the night. Henry snuck in earlier and plans to confront James about the Zoey situation. Charlie, who constantly questions the need for the Purge, spots a wounded man (Hodge, Red Dawn) pleading for help on the video monitors and deactivates the security system so the bleeding stranger can hide in their home for the night. He disappears into the home almost immediately. That’s when a new problem arises. A polite, well-spoken stranger (Wakefield, Sanctum) appears at the door demanding that James hand over the injured stranger or else he and his gang will break into their home and kill everybody inside. It’s a game of cat-and-mouse as James and Mary attempt to locate the elusive stranger in their dark home. Before the night is over, there will be blood!
I hardly think The Purge qualifies as light-hearted summer entertainment. It’s very violent and very intense. As such, it’s definitely not a film for children. I say this because I know that some parents will schlep their little ones along instead of springing for a babysitter. The manager of my favorite theater mentioned that he’s dreading opening night because he knows that some parents will bring their kids (12 and under) with them. I don’t often do this, but I feel obliged in this case to warn parents against it. For their sake, leave them at home. This movie will give them nightmares, horrible nightmares. It’s not just that it’s violent; the whole tone of it is quite disturbing. It’s rated R for a good reason.
That being said, I found The Purge interesting for the most part. Specifically, the idea is interesting and thought-provoking. It’s a worst case scenario for our consumer-driven society. It seems to be saying that this could be the outcome should we continue our materialistic ways. The chasm between the haves and have-nots will widen to a point where they’re seen as prey rather than people. At least that’s what I took away from The Purge. That’s all well and good, but does it work as a horror/thriller? Yes, for the most part. It’s fairly predictable and the pacing is a bit off at times, but it’s solid enough that audiences won’t mind watching it.
Most of the acting is just okay, but Wakefield is effectively chilling in his few scenes. He looks like a cross between Ryan Gosling and the Encyclopedia Britannica kid from the 80s commercials (“Hi, remember me?”). Hawke makes a better dramatic actor than he does an action star, but he fares okay in The Purge. Kane does well as the resentful teenage daughter who wears her school uniform the entire time, a fact that should please the dirty old men in the audience. The guy sitting a couple of rows back sure seemed to appreciate it judging by his comments (“Aw, yeah!”, “Nice!”).
I don’t think you’ll find a mainstream movie as disturbing as The Purge playing at the multiplexes over the next few months. It’s not your typical summer movie in that it serves up more food for thought than the average superhero movie or car chase flick. For those with nerves of steel, it may be worth a look.
