Category: Thriller
Actors: Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Max Burkholder, Adelaide Kane, Edwin Hodge
Duration: 86 min
Rated: R

You might like this movie if you enjoyed:
Panic Room (2002), The Strangers (2008)

Long Story Short: In 2022 the American government has managed to keep the unemployment rate at 1%, crime is at an all time low, and violence barely exists. Except for one night of the year: The Purge allows people to release all the hatred and stress they have built up inside by killing and vandalizing for 12 hours without any consequences. For the Sandins, who live in a wealthy neighborhood and have one of the best alarm systems, it has become routine to lock themselves up for this period of time, but this night is different.

Review: I heard so many bad things about this movie, including that it is racist, a waste of a good idea, false advertisement etc.
With these comments on my mind I went to see The Purge and I must say it wasn’t bad at all. I think most people expected a slaughter fest and one shock scene after another, and the trailer might have actually given that impression, however, it was more of a psychological thriller, which I didn’t mind at all. And how exactly was it racists? Because a black man was being hunted by a bunch of white folks?

DON’T READ THE NEXT SENTENCE IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE YET: If you haven’t noticed, the black man was actually the hero at the end. YOU MAY NOW CONTINUE!

I think what the writers tried to show is that (sadly) a lot of anger and hatred goes towards other races, so it is what it is. But who knows, writers have a purge every day, because they could actually let their frustrations out by creating characters they don’t like and kill them off or otherwise. Nobody really knows why they have the focus on a black victim in this movie. Any thoughts on that?

The idea of the movie was new and interesting. I think the 86 minutes went by very fast and I enjoyed the movie. I was definitely hoping for more background information about who created the purge and how other countries feel about it. Furthermore there haven’t been any character developments or even an introduction, and I therefore didn’t connect with the protagonists. The ending wasn’t bad, but came very abrupt and I hope they will come out with a second part that hopefully has a bigger budget, so they can deliver a better story with more twists. The Purge was a huge commercial success and is definitely worth a one- time watch if you liked Panic Room (2002) or The Strangers (2008). But I don’t think it is necessary to see it in the movie theater, better rent or buy it.

Rating: 6.5/10

Published by Elias

Biracial Kid, born in the late 80s. I write short stories, lyrics, books, I love Food, and I watch as many TV shows and movies as I can. My dream is to share my happiness and joy with the world... and to open a luxury hotel. View all posts by Elias