"America, a nation reborn. Unemployment is at 1%. Crime is at an all-time low. Because one time a year, all crime is legal." After watching the preview for the first time, I was enthralled. The idea of the film sounded phenomenal. The movie looked like a magnificent horror movie that didn't contain any paranormal entity. That being said, I couldn't stand the wait to see the movie.
The movie takes place in the year, 2022. America seems fantastic with 1% unemployment and lower crime rates. Then there comes one night a year, from 7 o'clock at night to 7 o'clock in the morning. That 12-hour period is to let Americans get all of their negative feelings out so that they don't have to cope with them throughout the year. That moment of time is when all crime is now legal: The Purge.
People can kill, steal, and anything that their hearts desire and will not be persecuted as long as they follow the few rules and limitations. For one, you can't harm a Level 10 government (or higher) official. Another rule is that you aren't allowed to use weaponry above Class 4.
The story revolves around a wealthy salesman, James Sandin, who created the best home security system designed for The Purge, and his family. His family consists of his wife, Mary, and two children, Zoey and Charlie. When Charlie is left alone, he looks at the monitors in the lounge room. He notices a man running through the streets, screaming for help. With hesitation, Charlie unlocks the futuristic security system for a brief moment and lets the bloody stranger take refuge in the Sandin home. After James and a certain loverboy exchange gunshots, Zoey runs off to tend to her boyfriend as the stranger hides away in their home.
After that inexplicable event, a group of Purgers (people who commit crimes together during The Purge) surround the house and claim that James Sandin is holding one of their targets in their home. The reason that the man is a target is because he is a homeless scum that makes America look bad, or at least that's the way the leader of the group told it. James is to bring the stranger, alive, outside so that the Purgers can deal with him. If they don't follow through with the plan, the Purgers will break in and kill the whole family. The trick is that they don't know where the man is!
Will they get the stranger in time, if at all? Will the family live to see 7 o'clock? What all will be sacrificed in order to try to keep the family alive? If you haven't seen the movie, I'm sure that you have these questions. So I suggest that you go see it if you can. If not, wait for it to come on Red Box or DVD. You won't regret it!
On a scale of one to ten, one being the worst, ten being the best, I would rate this movie a solid eight. The movie was enjoyable, though I suppose I just expected more horror in it. The hype got me too excited and led me to a little disappointment. The ending was something that you wouldn't ever expect. The twist was just gut-wrenching. It wasn't a paranormal horror film, so I think that it was a nice difference in modern horror media. All in all, I would suggest this movie to someone interested into horror films!
"Just remember all the good The Purge does."
