"Nothing is ever going to be okay again!"

Rating: 5/10 (8 November 2013)

Seeing the THE PURGE's rating here and on Amazon, I didn't get my hopes too high. I found it compelling and watchable enough, decently acted, and professionally filmed. Otherwise, it was something of a let-down.
As many others have noted, THE PURGE has a very original premise, and there's a lot more that the makers of this film could have done with it. Some of the various themes regarding contemporary America--classism, nationalism, gun-obsession, neighborhood relations and competition, etc--also begged for a little more development. But in the end, THE PURGE just becomes another run-of-the-mill shoot-'em-up fest.
It would have done miracles for this film if it had begun a few days BEFORE "Purge Night," giving a little more background on the Sandin family's relationship with their neighbors, dad's business relationship with the community, and daughter Zoey's forbidden relationship with boyfriend Henry. That way, what happens during "Purge Night," especially at the very end, would be better-earned and make a lot more sense.