The movie sadly,didnt purge my boredom
The Purge
One night a year, all crime is legal.
Rating
3.7 (3)
Release Date
5/31/2013Runtime
86 minsOverview
Given the country's overcrowded prisons, the U.S. government begins to allow 12-hour periods of time in which all illegal activity is legal. During one of these free-for-alls, a family must protect themselves from a home invasion.
Status
ReleasedOriginal Language
EnglishBudget
$3,000,000Revenue
$91,266,581Homepage
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How It Feels
Read from this film's synopsis, keywords and credits, and used to work out what it sits beside.
A brutal home-invasion thriller that traps you inside a fortified house with mounting dread as social inequality becomes the real threat. It's relentless pressure punctuated by shocks of graphic violence.
Mood
TenseDread-soakedParanoidClaustrophobic
Themes
ClassSurvivalFamilyPower
Tone
Earnest
Pacing
Propulsive
Look
HandheldHigh-contrast
Structure
Single location
Heads up
Graphic violence
Reviews
It seems the Letterboxd community is not fond of The Purge.
The Purge is interesting because the protagonists got rich off the Purge, so I can't really root for them (despitebeing wired to root for Ethan Hawke). Then you think you can root for their kids, but the kids are sort of unlikeable and annoying, so then you start rooting for the homeless guy. Then he is gone most of the movie, so you're just sort of riding it out. I spend the movie rooting for no one, but I like it anyway. It makes me curious about the backstory and other Purge experiences, which they answered with two movies that I liked, two movies that I didn't like, and a show I didn't watch.
<I>The Purge</i> was a film that, to me, didn't sound too appealing on paper, even under the Blumhouse umbrella, but delivered a truly fantastic, yet terrifying experience (it was released before the 2016 election and 2020 Black Lives Matter riots that rocked both the U.S. and world) that allows anyone to commit any crime, including murder, and not be charged for such actions.
After seeing the film (and skipping all of its details for this review), you can sort of relate with those who wish to commit various crimes. Had this been an actual annual event that took place during the early days of the pandemic, where everyone remained inside as the outside world was in limbo and/or people were itching to get out and be relieved of the stress they endured, it would produce incredibly dire results.
Series creator (and writer and director of this film) James DeMonaco based the concept on a road rage incident where he wished that he can do harm to the other person without consequences. Luckily, he used his brain, not fists, to develop what has turned into series of films (at the time of this review, there are five <I>Purge</i> films, with more on the way) and television series (two seasons).
<I>The Purge</i> is a fantastic home invasion film that keeps you glued to the screen, rooting at times for both the intruders and family in protection mode, as well as giving you an itch to purge.
<b>Final thoughts:</b>
God Bless the NFFA.
The Purge Collection
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