The Purge: Anarchy  (2014)    Universal/Horror-Thriller    RT: 103 minutes    Rated R (strong disturbing violence, language)    Director: James DeMonaco    Screenplay: James DeMonaco    Music: Nathan Whitehead    Cinematography: Jacques Jouffret    Release date: July 18, 2014 (US)    Cast: Frank Grillo, Carmen Ejogo, Zach Gilford, Kiele Sanchez, Zoe Soul, Michael K. Williams, Justina Muchado, John Beasley, Jack Conley, Noel Gugliemi, Castulo Guerra, Edwin Hodge, Keith Stanfield, Roberta Valderrama, Brandon Keener, Chad Morgan, Niko Nicotera.    Box Office: $72M (US)/$111.9M (World)

Rating: ***

 Last year’s effectively disturbing thriller The Purge was a claustrophobic piece in which a well-to-do family defends themselves against masked intruders taking part in an annual, government-sanctioned 12-hour period of murder and mayhem. In the not-too-distant future, EVERYTHING (including murder) is legal for one night. Emergency services are suspended and it’s basically every man for himself. The movie went on to do very well at the box office, a sure sign that writer-director James DeMonaco would deliver a sequel.

 I’m pleased to report that The Purge: Anarchy is neither a knock-off nor a rehash of the first movie. Instead, the story is spread across a much wider canvas, namely the city of Los Angeles. Also, we finally learn the real reason behind the yearly Purge- population control. Things like poverty and unemployment are almost non-existent in 2023 thanks to the Purge. The poor, the sick, the disenfranchised and the homeless are the prey and the wealthy 1% are the predators. As one sick bastard explains, it’s the best way of maintaining the status quo in the US under the New Founding Fathers. And you thought Obama was destroying the country?

 As the clock ticks down to 7pm on March 21, citizens rush home to barricade themselves inside until 7am the next morning. Not everybody makes it. Shane (Gilford, Devil’s Due) and Liz (Sanchez, A Perfect Getaway) break down while driving to her sister’s house. Their domestic problems suddenly don’t seem to matter after they spot of group of masked killers on motorcycles and skateboards coming after them. A mother (Ejogo, Sparkle) and daughter (Soul, Prisoners) also find themselves on the street after uniformed thugs with automatic weapons invade their building in the projects. The only one who wants to be out there is a nameless vigilante (Grillo, Homefront) looking to avenge the death of a loved one. He finds himself the sole protector of the others after the cruel hands of fate bring them together. It’s the super-rich who want to wipe out these folks, but they don’t want to get their hands dirty, so they have mercenaries rounding them up and delivering them. It all culminates in a darker, less-civilized version of the Hunger Games.

 It doesn’t happen very often, but I enjoyed this sequel more than the original. The Purge: Anarchy kept me riveted from start to finish. It’s dark, violent, disturbing and the complete antithesis of the usual fare that plays at multiplexes during the dog days of summer. It’s an intelligent movie that takes its goofy premise a bit too seriously at times. It’s also one of the more entertaining thrillers I’ve seen in a while. Danger lurks around every dark corner of the city. Crazed snipers shoot from rooftops and windows. Masked killers roam the near-empty streets. A bus rolls the down the street engulfed in flames. The scared citizens run for cover. It all makes for nail-biting entertainment. And I haven’t even mentioned the underground movement looking to abolish the Purge once and for all. All I’ll say is that DeMonaco lays the groundwork for a third Purge movie.

 Grillo does an excellent job as the anti-hero who leads the stranded group to what’s supposed to be a safe place. He’s kind of like the Man with No Name character from the Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns of the 60s. The Purge: Anarchy works a lot better than it should thanks to the opening up of the story. What would be the point of setting it in a different home with a different family? DeMonaco wisely avoids the “been-there/done-that” pitfall that many sequels fall victim to. I’m actually surprised that a major studio distributed the Purge movies. They seem more like smaller independent films with limited appeal. Typically, audiences don’t go for bleak films like The Rover or The Purge: Anarchy. Then again, the two Hunger Games movies made a ton of money. I’ll be interested to see how this new Purge movie performs at the box office. Will audiences go for it or flock to Sex Tape? Stay tuned and find out.