Starring: Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, and Max Burkholder
Directed by: James DeMonaco
Screenplay by: James DeMonaco
A few years from now, America is a very different country. Unemployment is at 1%, crime is at an all time low, and prosperity is everywhere. This seems like a pretty good world to live in. But then there's twelve hours of hell once a year. All emergency and law enforcement services are suspended for twelve hours, once a year. On this night, all crimes are legal, including murder. This is known as The Purge.
So, since all this weird stuff happens on the night of the annual Purge, security systems are hot new things to invest in to protect oneself. James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) sells such security systems and has one installed in his home to protect himself and his family from the dangers of the Purge. When his son lets in a stranger who is trying to hide from people pursuing him, the family becomes hostages to these bandits. They'll do anything to get the guy who's hiding inside the Sandins's home and with each passing hour, the situation becomes more dire and more dangerous. Will everyone be able to survive the night?
This is perhaps one of the most interesting concepts for a film I've seen so far in 2013. It's not a common occurrence to see a film with such a dark and scary concept. The problem with this concept and the way it is executed, is that the film seems like either a really cheesy drama or an even cheesier horror film. I don't know what to classify this film as, and that's kind of a problem. There are elements to the film that would make it a horror film and there are elements that would make it an almost soap opera-like drama.
This is an intense film that does not get at all boring nor does it fail to lose any suspense. There are twists and turns every few minutes and it's a really fun movie to make weird comments about every five seconds (if you're into that sort of thing).
The camera often is quite shaky, making it possible to get a little dizzy occasionally. The acting isn't great (Lena Headey is far better as Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones). Everyone is either somewhat overdramatic or somewhat emotionless.
At least the storyline is short and not very detailed, making for a pretty short movie (about an hour and a half). It gets so cheesy in some instances that I couldn't wait for the movie to end. Overall, while the movie tries to be as serious as possible, one can't help but laugh at some points in the film. This is the kind of film that should be seen with a humongous group of people outside of a movie theater so that you can make hilarious comments about the movie throughout its duration. You'll come out of this movie thinking the purge is a really good idea, or you'll be insanely afraid that such a thing could ever happen in this country.
I give The Purge a C+.
Directed by: James DeMonaco
Screenplay by: James DeMonaco
A few years from now, America is a very different country. Unemployment is at 1%, crime is at an all time low, and prosperity is everywhere. This seems like a pretty good world to live in. But then there's twelve hours of hell once a year. All emergency and law enforcement services are suspended for twelve hours, once a year. On this night, all crimes are legal, including murder. This is known as The Purge.
So, since all this weird stuff happens on the night of the annual Purge, security systems are hot new things to invest in to protect oneself. James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) sells such security systems and has one installed in his home to protect himself and his family from the dangers of the Purge. When his son lets in a stranger who is trying to hide from people pursuing him, the family becomes hostages to these bandits. They'll do anything to get the guy who's hiding inside the Sandins's home and with each passing hour, the situation becomes more dire and more dangerous. Will everyone be able to survive the night?
This is perhaps one of the most interesting concepts for a film I've seen so far in 2013. It's not a common occurrence to see a film with such a dark and scary concept. The problem with this concept and the way it is executed, is that the film seems like either a really cheesy drama or an even cheesier horror film. I don't know what to classify this film as, and that's kind of a problem. There are elements to the film that would make it a horror film and there are elements that would make it an almost soap opera-like drama.
This is an intense film that does not get at all boring nor does it fail to lose any suspense. There are twists and turns every few minutes and it's a really fun movie to make weird comments about every five seconds (if you're into that sort of thing).
The camera often is quite shaky, making it possible to get a little dizzy occasionally. The acting isn't great (Lena Headey is far better as Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones). Everyone is either somewhat overdramatic or somewhat emotionless.
At least the storyline is short and not very detailed, making for a pretty short movie (about an hour and a half). It gets so cheesy in some instances that I couldn't wait for the movie to end. Overall, while the movie tries to be as serious as possible, one can't help but laugh at some points in the film. This is the kind of film that should be seen with a humongous group of people outside of a movie theater so that you can make hilarious comments about the movie throughout its duration. You'll come out of this movie thinking the purge is a really good idea, or you'll be insanely afraid that such a thing could ever happen in this country.
I give The Purge a C+.
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