The Purge

The Purge Information

The Purge is a 2013 American science fiction thriller film directed and written by James DeMonaco. Starring Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey, the film is set in the year 2022 when the United States have become "a nation reborn", with crime and unemployment rates hitting an all-time low, due to the government having instituted an annual 12-hour period called "the Purge" during which all criminal activity (including murder, theft, rape, etc.) becomes legal. The only rules during the Purge are that government officials of "ranking 10" must remain unharmed and usage of weaponry above "Class 4" (such as WMDs) is forbidden. The Purge is designed to act as a catharsis for the American people, so that they may vent all negative emotions however they desire.

Plot

James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) is a wealthy home security developer who has made a fortune selling home security systems"?comprising security cameras and metallic "butts" blocking any possible entrance"?that are specifically designed for the Purge. One of the neighbors, Mrs. Grace Ferrin (Arija Bareikis), tells James' wife Mary (Lena Headey) the neighbors have been gossiping that the extension on the Sandin family's house was financed by the security systems James sold them. At their heavily-fortified house, Mary struggles with their two children, Zoey (Adelaide Kane) and Charlie (Max Burkholder). Zoey is dating an older boy named Henry (Tony Oller), of whom her father does not approve. Zoey goes to her bedroom, where she finds Henry, who snuck into the house before the lockdown to convince James to bless their relationship and figured he could not be thrown out of the house during the Purge. Later an Emergency Broadcast System message appears on television, telling America the rules of the purge and that all police, fire, and hospital aid will be shut down for the 12 hour period. Tornado sirens start blaring outside, commencing the start of the annual "Purge", which is a period when all crime is legal and emergency services remain suspended..

James and his family watch the events of the Purge unfold via the video monitors in the lounge. After a while, Charlie is left alone and notices a bloody stranger (Edwin Hodge), outside the house pleading for help. Charlie deactivates the security system and lets him in. James intercepts the stranger and holds him at gunpoint. Henry appears and opens fire on James, attempting to eliminate the obstacle preventing his relationship with Zoey. James fatally shoots Henry, and in the confusion the stranger escapes to hide within the house. Zoey runs off with the fatally-wounded Henry and watches him die. James then goes off in search of his daughter and the stranger.

Later, a group of masked "Purgers" led by a character known as "Polite Leader" (Rhys Wakefield) arrive at their home, having found where the bloody stranger is hiding. The leader emphasizes that James' family and the "Purgers" have common interests in the Purge, and that they have no desire to hurt "their own people". The leader also reveals that the stranger's homelessness made him in a good candidate for purging, and that James should not attempt to deny their group the right to purge their streets of people like the stranger. The leader suggests that the family give them the stranger or else they'll kill everyone inside. James admits that the security system was designed to act as a deterrent, but not to withstand any number of types of aggressive assaults. Charlie finds the stranger and leads him to a secret hiding place. Zoey, seeking to also hide there, inadvertently stumbles into the stranger, who holds her at gunpoint but James pounds a vase on the stranger's head. James and Mary tie up the stranger and, to subdue him, aggravate his wounds, in preparation to deliver him to the attackers. After seeing James with Zoey, the Bloody Stranger sadly tells James to take him outside. However, the Sandins have a change of heart after realizing they are becoming essentially no different than the purgers outside. The purgers successfully break into the household and the Sandins are forced to defend themselves. Grace, Mr. Cali (Tom Yi), Mr. and Mrs. Halverson (Chris Mulkey & Tisha French), other neighbours of the Sandin, arrive to help James and Mary kill the remaining purgers. However, Mary notices that James' stomach has a Bowie knife stab wound caused by the Polite Leader. Then the leader comes out and tells Mary she has done hard work, and just before he can kill the rest of the family, he is suddenly killed by gunshots from a handgun, which Zoey was holding. Mary thanks the neighbours, but they reveal that they have come to kill the Sandins since the opportunity presented itself, they decided it was their patriotic duty to kill the Sandins in order to vent their hatred for the family's new-found wealth. Just as the neighbors are about to kill the family, the Bloody Stranger comes to the Sandins' aid. He kills Mr. Cali with his handgun and threatens to kill the remaining neighbors if they don't let the Sandins go, which they do. Mary decides to spare her neighbors, as too many people have died during the night and to not allow them the pleasure of not having to live with the Sandins. While waiting for the end of the purge at the kitchen table, Grace tries to grab Mary's gun to shoot her, but Mary deflects the attack and hits Grace with gun and smashes her face into the table. The surviving neighbors and the stranger leave the house and walk away as sirens outside start blaring again, signaling the end of the Purge. The Sandin family watches the emergency services arrive outside of their home.

During the credits, there is audio from television broadcasts stating that this Purge was the most successful due to the record high number of murders, with stock markets opening high, due to the release of aggression and sales of home defense systems and weapons.

Cast

Ethan Hawke as James Sandin
Lena Headey as Mary Sandin
Max Burkholder as Charlie Sandin
Adelaide Kane as Zoey Sandin
Edwin Hodge as Bloody Stranger
Rhys Wakefield as Polite Leader
Tony Oller as Henry
Arija Bareikis as Mrs. Grace Ferrin
Tom Yi as Mr. Cali
Chris Mulkey as Mr. Halverson
Tisha French as Mrs. Halverson
Dana Bunch as Mr. Ferrin
Peter Gvozdas as Dr. Peter Buynak
Karen Strassman as journalist
Peter Jones as the Boss

Release

The film was released on May 31, 2013 in the UK and on June 7, 2013 in the USA.

Reception

The Purge received mixed to negative reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a rating of 38% based on 126 reviews, with the site's consensus stating "Half social allegory, half home-invasion thriller, The Purge attempts to use thriller formula to make an intelligent point"?but ultimately only ends up sinking in numbing violence and tired cliches". The film held a score of 41/100 on Metacritic based on 33 critics, signifying mixed or average reviews. The film received a "C" on CinemaScore.

On io9, Charlie Jane Anders described it as "a clunky and implausible political screed in movie form." Entertainment Weekly gave The Purge a B"?, saying that it "clearly has a lot on its mind, but it never really manages to express it."

Box office

In its opening weekend, The Purge topped the box office with $16.8 million on opening day and $34.1 million through the entire weekend. The film has collected $78,577,217 at the worldwide box office, with a production budget of $3 million.

Sequel

Due to the success of the first film, a sequel is in development by Universal and Blumhouse.