Considering The Purge's progeny (Paranormal Activity and Sinister, both very good horror films), I expected quite a bit when I sat down to watch it. I have been holding off watching the movie for some time, thinking it would not be very good, and I was partially correct.
Thè Purge takes place in the near future in a rich suburbanite town. America has a unemployment and violent crime rate that hovers somewhere around 1%. This is because there is some new quasi-theocratic government running the United States, and every year, for 12 hours, the purge occurs. As some kind of natural catharsis, all crime is legal, and all police and emergency services are suspended. It is a sort of government-supported anarchy that theoretically gets the beast out of everyone by letting them fulfill their darkest desires. The specific story is about a wealthy family who, during the purge, let in a homeless man who was wounded by some very unlikeable young punks who want to kill him for sheer sport. They threaten the family that if they do not release the man, they will break in and kill everybody. Eventually they do break in, but another twist throws a monkey wrench in those plans..,
So. This is not exactly an original story. Star Trek had an episode entitled Return of the Archons which was essentially the exact same scenario except it was called the Red Hour instead of the Purge. In either case, both shows were making points about the thin veneer of civilization that covers our very brutal souls. Each show suggests it will not take much to let that beast out. They also posit that if everyone were able to live out their darkest fantasies of raping and killing anything they see for a certain period of time, that this will have some kind of therapeutic effect on a population. Since Stár Trek comes from a much more optimistic worldview on human nature, Kirk says no to those inner demons, while acknowledging their existence. He is on the side of civilization, and how that civilization is crucial to us as human beings. Perhaps because we now live in a more cynical age, The Purge, while saying there may be unintended consequences to this activity, it will still go on. Now, the movie is not suggesting this is an ideal set of events; far from it, actually. But it does suggest it is a possible scenario.
As I stated before, this movie was brought to us by the same people who made the superior horror film Sinister, and like Sinister, it is filled with very disturbing imagery, especially when you consider the age of the perpetrators in both films. But while Sinister is an unapologetic horror film that is very bleak, The Purge is attempting to be something more. It is attempting to be a social commentary of sorts, in its own extremely ham-handed way. The movie alternately posits that this is the natural outgrowth of a government based on religious principles. It also a very class-conscious vehicle. The homeless man is, of course, black and poor, and his attackers are privileged, white young people. The film also says that the purge was made to eliminate the poor class as they do not have the means to defend themselves with sophisticated home defense systems. So the movie is a white/black-rich/poor war scenario that seems straight out of The Turner Diaries. And while I do applaud the writers for actually trying to say something more profound than a horror film, the philosophy behind it could be written by a twelve-year-old and has all the depth of a mud puddle. It is obvious and brutish at every turn, and the final twist is mildly clever, but ultimately predictable. It's The Stepford Wives meets Psycho, but has neither of these shows' understated nuance (yes, there is nuance in Psycho).
In the end, it comes down to the fact that the filmmakers were shooting for something profound and ultimately produced something hackneyed. But they are to be commended for at least trying to say something, as we live in a jaded and apathetic time where moral relativism reigns. It is trying to sound a warning klaxon in its own plodding way. Like Paranormal Activity and Sinister, it is chock full of very disturbing and threatening imagery that is quite effective, making this a cut above its slasher kin. But ultimately, it's the story that matters, and it falls a bit flat in this case. It's disappointing really, considering how good the other two are. They can't all be winners, I guess. Now let the horrible sequels commence!
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