(The third one does deserve some credit for allowing Kyle Secor to go totally over the top but all the stuff about Elizabeth Mitchell’s presidential campaign was sooooooooo boring!)
Apparently, The First Purge is going to be a prequel. It’s going to show us how the Purge came to be, which sounds … well, to be honest, I’ve never really cared how the Purge came to be. In fact, one reason the franchise worked is because they didn’t waste a lot of time explaining all the exact details about how the Purge came to be. So, I’m not really sure if this is a good idea.
There’s a new director for this installment so it’ll probably suck but here’s the trailer anyway!
Here’s the 2nd trailer for The Purge: Election Year!
Will this movie be more like the first Purge film or the second Purge film? It’s an important question because the first Purge had an intriguing premise but only so-so execution. Whereas the second Purge film should have been nominated for all sorts of Oscars…
One good sign: Frank Grillo is back! Then again, it’s not like they could have brought anyone back from the first Purge film because the first Purge film ended with almost everyone dead. Between the first Purge and Sinister, Ethan Hawke briefly managed to corner the market on unstable father figures who end up dead by the end of the movie.
(Whoops, was that a spoiler or was that two spoilers? Sorry, I hope you can still love me…)
Anyway, here’s the trailer for The Purge: Election Year! Feel free to watch it and leave your own comments comparing the Purge to either the Donald Trump campaign or the Hillary Clinton campaign.
(By the way, since this is an election year, I’m planning on doing a twitter poll in October. I’m going to ask who my 8,000 plus followers think I should vote for. I will then vote the exact opposite because the world needs a red-headed contrarian.)
(On another note, someone on YouTube mentioned that “It must be a bitch to clean up all the graffiti every year,” and I think he’s right! I would not want that job!)
(Also, if there was a real-life annual Purge, I would not murder anyone but I probably would do a little shoplifting. But that’s just me. You spend your purge the way that you want to…)
2014’s The Purge: Anarchy was a wonderfully subversive political satire disguised as an action film. Not only was Anarchy a huge improvement over the original Purge, it also introduced many filmgoers to Frank Grillo, one of the greatest tough guy actors since Robert Mitchum.
After the success of Anarchy, there was little doubt that there would be a third Purge film. There was also little doubt that Frank Grillo would return.
And that time has finally arrived. Earlier today, the first trailer for The Purge: Election Year was released. And here it is!
The Purge: Election Year will be released on the 4th of July.
Last summer’s surprise hit, The Purge, was something that ended up being better than it should’ve been. Using a premise that the United States of America has a yearly 12-hour event where all crimes are legal in order for the population to vent their frustrations was an interesting one. The fact that this event was cooked up by what the film calls America’s Second Founding Fathers was a nice touch.
The film itself started well enough but ended up becoming another take on the home invasion trope. At least, the box office success of the film meant a sequel was quickly greenlit. What we have with The Purge: Anarchy takes the original film’s premise and goes much wider in scope and scale. Instead of the film using a home invasion premise we now go the “Most Dangerous Game” route. If we’re to believe what the latest trailer is showing it’s that the Purge Event might be something cooked up by those rich and powerful.
We also have the very awesome Frank Grillo channeling his inner Frank Castle and using the Purge event to find those who killed his son in the year’s previous Purge.
This sequel has me more excited for it than I probably should, but if the film pulls off half of what this trailer promises then I’ll be satisfied.
Oh, if The Purge was real then people better not be trying to give me a visit because I’m ready.
For our latest entry in the 44 Days of Paranoia, we take a look at one of the more unexpected box office successes of 2013, The Purge.
The Purge takes place in the year 2022. In some ways, America is much the same as it is today but in other ways, it is significantly different. Unemployment is down to 1% and crime rates have plunged. Before you can say, “So, this is what we have to look forward to once Obama is no longer President,” we are told that America is now being led by the “New Founding Fathers.”
We also learn that every year, for one 12-hour period, all crime is legal. The Purge is designed to act as a catharsis, a time for the American people to release all of their pent-up frustrations and act on all the desires that the government has since forbidden. As the film opens, we listen to people discussing how they’re going to celebrate 2022’s Purge. Some say that they’re going to stay inside and keep their doors locked. Another brags about how he’s planning to take the opportunity to murder his boss.
The Purge has also created an entirely new economy that is completely centered around preparing for the Purge. As a result, men like James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) have become millionaires by selling home security systems. The Purge opens with James pulling up in front his gigantic mansion, going inside, and getting his family prepared for that night’s Purge.
When the Purge begins, James, his wife (Lena Headey), and his family believe themselves to be safe inside their mansion. However, things don’t go quite as planned. For one thing, daughter Zooey’s (Adelaide Kane) older boyfriend Henry (Tony Oller) is hiding out in the house. Henry knows that James doesn’t approve of him but is convinced that he can either change James’s mind or, failing that, simply kill him while it’s perfectly legal to do so.
An even bigger complication arises when a bloody stranger (Edwin Hodge) approaches the house and begs to be let in. When James’s son opens the door to the man, the house is suddenly surrounded by a group of masked purgers who demand that the stranger be sent back out. When the purgers start to attack, the Sandins’s jealous neighbors suddenly see a chance to take out their own resentments on James and his family…
The Purge got terrible reviews but, judging from its box office success, it obviously struck a nerve with audiences. And why not? Like many so-called exploitation films, The Purge may not be subtle but it does manage to perfectly capture the fears and prejudices that everyone in the audience has. I saw The Purge when it was first released and then I recently rewatched it on DVD and I have to say that I was a little surprised to discover just how well The Purge holds up to repeat viewings. The Purge is effective because, as over-the-top as it may seem, it’s still a disturbingly plausible portrait of the type of society that our “leaders” seem to be so eager to create.
As a side note, shortly after the film completed its initial run, George Zimmerman was acquitted in the Trayvon Martin case and I can still remember seeing hundreds of people on twitter saying that it was time to have a real-life Purge in Florida, which indicates how much of a part of the popular culture this film became. It’s not surprising that a sequel is going to be released in 2014.
I thought The Purge was totally unrealistic.. until the Zimmerman verdict
As always, you can vote for up to 4 films and write-ins are allowed.
Happy voting!
I know that most people will probably be voting for either Man of Steel or World War Z but for me, June is all about The Bling Ring and This Is The End.
Through the Shattered Lens 