The Purge

The Purge is a movie that I have been looking forward to from the very first time that I watched the trailer. The trailer, one of the best ever cut, fully hooked me and this became a movie that I had to see. The fact that Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey were the headliners of the movie made me even more excited for the movie to be released. I have to say that I was absolutely not disappointed with this movie at all. A summer horror movie with solid acting is pretty good in my books.

The Purge tells the story of a newly "reborn" America, where crime is almost non-existent and the same goes for unemployment. There is an annual event called "The Purge", where all crime is deemed legal for 12 hours and that includes murder. We follow the Sandin family on the night of The Purge, and the plight that befalls them. James, the head of the family, sells security systems designed to protect people's homes on the night of The Purge. He has the "perfect" family, a loving wife, Mary, and two children. After the purge commences, a man is being hunted in their neighborhood and is looking for sanctuary and is given it by James' son. The hunters, looking for the man then lay siege to the Sandins' house. What was supposed to be a night of safety quickly turns into a night of terror.

This is one of those movies that the actual world it is based in is more interesting than the actual story being told on screen. I was so interested in finding out what events led to the creation of The Purge and who the new founding fathers of The United States are. The reasoning for the purge is so that everyone can have a night to release their frustration and all of the rage they have pent up inside. I hope that there is a further explanation of the event in the inevitable sequel that will be made. The events in the movie are interesting but the world of the movie is just that more interesting. Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey are great in this movie and carry the movie and elevate it despite the low quality supporting actors. The only other solid actor in the movie is newcomer, Rhys Wakefield. He is super creepy in his role as the leader of the pack of hunters laying siege to the house. He is packed full of manic energy and is terrifying in the role.

The main setback in this movie is the dumb decisions that the characters make. Shining lights on doors when they are hiding, flip flopping constantly, and just major gaps in logic. Mary is one of the only characters that acts logically for the most part in the movie and in the end makes some extremely bold decisions. The children make some fucking terrible decisions and James makes a collection of boneheaded and smart decisions. This is a minor gripe in an otherwise very solid movie and hopefully the same mistakes are not made in the future sequels.

This is a very solid horror movie that makes some bold choices and builds a very rich world that hopefully is fleshed out in the sequel. Hawke and Headey are great in this movie and if you are a fan of horror movies then you should go out and see this one.