A family is terrorized for harboring a stranger during the one
​night a year in a dystopian America that all crime is legal.

HORROR

The Purge (2013)

Written and Directed by James DeMonaco

Starring Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Max Burkholder, Adelaide Kane, Edwin Hodge, Rhys Wakefield, Tony Oller, Arija Bareikis

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Connor Eyzaguirre

June 30, 2021

7/10

It's taken me four movies and an impending fifth to finally sit down and tackle The Purge franchise. I've heard mixed things over the years, but I always admired the concept. In a dystopian America, one night a year all crime is legal. The possibilities are limitless. I think that's why the first film is kind of a letdown. Despite decent performances and, like I said, a genius concept, the full scope of the Purge is limited to a single house. We're told how widespread this thing is, how everyone participates, how cities are leveled and spirits broken. But this is ultimately your basic home invasion thriller.

James Sandin (Hawke) makes a living selling home security systems for the Purge. When the night arrives, he locks down with his wife (Headey) and two very annoying children. But his son Charlie (Burkholder) doesn't quite understand the unwritten rules of the big night, so he lets in a random homeless man (Hodge) who is screaming for help. This puts the Sandin family in the crosshairs of a psycho gang of Purgers who want the man dead for blatant political reasons that aren't even trying to be subtle. Of course, it all ends with a shootout between the gang and the Sandins, ending with the Sandins' neighbors killing the gang...and then trying to kill the Sandins because it's the FUCKING Purge.

Personally, I don't know why everyone goes straight to murder in these situations. The very first thing I'd do is wipe out my student loan debt, then steal a bunch of movies to keep myself busy for lockdown. But then again, unlike the citizens of 2022 America in this film, I don't have homicidal tendencies bubbling just under the surface of my personality. Maybe the next few films will have more to offer in terms of actual Purge. Still, it wasn't terrible.