#THE FIRST PURGE MOVIE#
#THE FIRST PURGE SERIES#

A lot of “The First Purge” involves the creators of this new holiday wondering aloud why nothing is happening yet, and it’s not unreasonable for the audience to wonder the same thing.

#THE FIRST PURGE MOVIE#

It’s a severe and potent political allegory, but the problem with making a movie about the least eventful Purge is that you’re making a movie about the least eventful Purge. Strip away the propaganda, and The Purge is nothing more than thinly-disguised genocide.Īlso Read: Will Smith Compares Rise of Trump-Era GOP to 'The Purge': 'Darkness Before the Dawn' “The Purge” has never been subtle before, and it doesn’t start now: McMurray’s film argues that institutionalized violence only appeals to social classes who already have power. Of course, she phrases it more academically: “This socioeconomic group is not behaving the way I expected.”Įventually, The New Founding Fathers unleash groups of white mercenaries dressed in Ku Klux Klan robes, Nazi uniforms and racist “blackface” masks to commit mass murder. Updale (Marisa Tomei), the brains behind the operation, seems genuinely surprised that non-white people aren’t desperate to kill each other.

It’s such a poor turnout that the future of the experiment is imperiled. For one couple, suspension of the law just means an excuse to get away with public sex. The majority of the Staten Island populace either stays indoors or simply parties harder than ever before. When the experiment begins, only a few mentally ill individuals - like a cartoonishly evil man called “Skeletor” (Rotimi Paul, “Mapplethorpe”) - take to the streets and start killing people.

#THE FIRST PURGE SERIES#

They’re all skeptical of The Purge, and they all hope the experiment fails and that life can go back to normal.Īlso Read: William Baldwin Cast in USA's 'The Purge' Series Nya’s ex-boyfriend Dmitiri (Y’lan Noel, “Insecure”) is a powerful local drug kingpin. Nya (Lex Scott Davis, “Superfly”) is an ex-gang member trying to steer her brother Isaiah (Jovian Wade, “EastEnders”) along the path of the straight and narrow. The New Founding Fathers ask the individual Purgers, in advance of the holiday, “Are you angry?” and the answer is always “Yes.”Īs the clock ticks down to Purge night, we meet our protagonists. Advantage is being taken of the economically disadvantaged. The residents are paid $5,000 to stay on the island, and they’re given even more money if they decide to participate in the violent festivities. The American government, led by a splinter party called The New Founding Fathers, is undergoing what they currently call “The Experiment.” For 12 hours, all crime on Staten Island will be legalized. Watch Video: 'The First Purge' Trailer Explains the History of Dangerous Tradition We will do whatever it takes to let you dream again,” the point is made effectively: This is a film that is set in the future, and the future is tomorrow. By the time a conservative president takes the podium and declares, “The American Dream is dead. The film is a prequel and opens with news footage that we all recognize, of white supremacists in the streets, economic strife, and a nation wholly divided. “The First Purge,” directed by Gerard McMurray (“Burning Sands”), tells the story of those few steps. Nowadays, it seems only a few steps removed from actual national policy. When the series started, the vision of a dystopian future where all crime is legal in the United States for 12 hours seemed like a ridiculous fantasy. Sure, “Friday the 13th” gave us a Jason Voorhees who turned undead, fought Firestarter, transformed into a mustache-fetishizing bodysnatcher, and journeyed into space, but “The Purge” just keeps peeling back layers.

“The Purge” may be the only horror movie franchise that gets more plausible with each sequel.