A presidential candidate who vows to end the Purge
​is hunted down by the opposing party on Purge Night.

HORROR

The Purge: Election Year (2016)

Written and Directed by James DeMonaco

Starring Frank Grillo, Elizabeth Mitchell, Mykelti Williamson, Joseph Julian Soria, Betty Gabriel, Terry Serpico, Edwin Hodge

Sequel to 2014's The Purge: Anarchy

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Connor Eyzaguirre

July 1, 2021

8/10

The Purge: Election Year continues the story of Joe Barnes (Sergeant from the second film) as he becomes head of security for presidential candidate Charlie Roan (Mitchell). She promises to rid America of the Purge forever, which of course makes her a genuine threat to the Powers That Be. In this third film, we get to see how the Purge affects our nation's capital, and how God is tangled up in the Purge belief system (of course). Plus, we get more memorable and relatable characters to root for as they try to protect Senator Roan from the government that wants her dead.

Sergeant Barnes (Grillo) is once again a force to be reckoned with, as he becomes the only one who Senator Roan can trust to keep her safe. You've also got deli owner Joe Dixon (Williamson) and his partner Marcos (Soria), as well as former Purger Laney Rucker (Gabriel) and resistance leader Dante Bishop (Hodge, who was the bloody stranger in the first two films. Gotta love that continuity). We get to see how both sides, the government and the resistance, are fairly in the wrong. Murder is never the answer, especially when the goal is to end the Purge. I loved the concept of "murder tourists;" foreigners who travel to America specifically to Purge, because something that batshit crazy could only happen in the good ol' U.S. of A.

The Purge: Election Year is tied with the previous film in terms of quality. Maybe Frank Grillo just adds something to these films, or maybe the bigger the budget gets, the more purging they can actually show us. I hope, in this franchise, we get to see the New Founding Fathers just get completely massacred. Though considering the next one is a prequel and the new one takes place in Mexico, I think this might've been the last chance for it.