Disturbing and best of all unique, The Purge was worth the wait

Rating: 7/10 (6 October 2013)

From the moment I saw the trailer for this I was riveting and intrigued. For one reason or another I wasn't able to see it in theatres so I was stoked to finally get to watch it on DVD. You could say my expectations were reasonably high and I had heard mostly good things. A lot of IMDb reviewers were really harping on the film and I do understand where some of there concerns come from but ultimately this film delivers exactly what you would expect from it so I'm not sure how anyone could dislike it so much. You absolutely have to let go of some semblance of reality and accept a few (mostly minor) plot holes but I was willing to do that for a number of reasons. First of all this was one of the first unique horror films I have seen in years. It is disturbing, twisted and has a sincere undertone of a bizarre moral message in there somewhere. The frantic, gritty and dark style the film is shot in works quite well and sets a tone that really gets under your skin and is genuinely creepy. It borders almost like a found footage style of movie in some ways but without using that completely tired way of shooting horror films. The acting isn't perfect, in fact in some ways I was wondering if star Ethan Hawke was purposely being campy but then I wonder if perhaps the way he acts is part of his character.
Let me explain that statement. Hawke plays a devoted father who sells security systems to guard homes against the annual purge. He has made a fortune at doing it. He seems cocky and very very wooden throughout the film. I thought he almost came across as sociopathic in the way that his emotions felt fake. But I think maybe that was sort of the point to the character. He is someone who has chosen to continue to quell his emotions and not take part in the purge. He is ruthless in some aspects and yet seems to want nothing more than to protect his family. Maybe I'm over-analyzing his character but he was unlikeable in some aspects but I have to wonder if that was the point. It wasn't his best performance but it worked for the film. Lena Headey is his wife. I came to know Headey best as Sarah Connor in the Terminator TV Series and it was different seeing her in a very vulnerable role. She spends an awful lot of time crying and screaming and never really gets a lot of depth to her character. She does alright in the role but the chemistry is lacking slightly between her and Hawke and the rest of the family. Adelaide Kane and Max Burkholder are their two children. They also do okay without being particularly outstanding. Both of them have their moments and unfortunately for Burkholder, his character makes such an enormously stupid movie in the first part of the film (which basically drives the entire movie) that you can't help but hate him for it. Edwin Hodge is the homeless man they find themselves inadvertently protecting. He does a good job and shows a lot of emotion but doesn't get a lot of character development for sure. Rhys Wakefield might be the juiciest role in the whole movie as the twisted and demented leader of the group outside their home. He is cold blooded, maniacal and insane and it works. He borders being a little bit campy but he is scary enough that it works.
So the biggest problem that The Purge has is a sub-standard cast or at the very least, poorly developed characters. I can vouch that Hawke, Headey and Burkholder can act so it has to be their characters. The family dynamic is lacking and it should be such an important aspect of this film. Nonetheless the disturbing nature of the film is enough to truly get under your skin and freak you out. Part thriller and part horror it is certain to at least make you jump once and give you chills when you're watching a particularly disturbing scene and there are a few of those. It is brutally violent without being gory in the lease which is bizarre but also clever on their part. Director and writer James DeMonaco breaks my cardinal rule of directing his own writing work. While he did a decent job at this, I think a director with more experience could have crafted this into something spectacular. Don't get me wrong DeMonaco has created something significant here but it could have been perfected. There is a lot of story left untapped, who are the new founding fathers, how did the purge come about and why are people so completely accepting of it? No matter what you think of the film as a whole and there are some issues with it as I've laid out but you can't deny the creep factor and the unique idea behind this. Its simply unfortunate that it was polished and perfected. Mr. DeMonaco needs to find a new director to helm the sequel and we can get this train onto the right track!! 7/10