Save your $ and enjoy your thoughts

Rating: 4/10 (24 October 2013)

Top 10 scary movie potential with mid/bottom delivery. This movie struggled. I watched it last night with a group of friends and nearly every moment someone in the group had their hands up gesturing "WHAAAAAAaaaat!????" Simply put, take the movie premise and run with it in your mind; because this movie comes no where close to your expectations.
The idea is fairly unique and intriguing. The actors leave you constantly perplexed and confused with their poor acting, dialogue and decision making. I was waiting for a scene where one of the kids didn't run away, but much like my opinion of the movie, I was left wanting. Typical thriller/horror where you can call what comes around every corner.
The boy actor was awful; showing little to no emotion or expression and inexplicably always seeking to torpedo his family's chance at survival. The girl was as cliché as possible and as with her brother, struggles to grasp the gravity and seriousness of the situation. No one in the family felt the need to survive or help one another but rather to make choices that NO ONE would make.
The goofy dancing and actions of the "bad guys" is similarly baffling as they have a purpose not a psycho-circus/haunted house feel. I was left comparing it to Panic Room and wishing David Fincher had adopted this project.
But the biggest kicker of all was how the movie failed to explore the vast avenues this plot provided. I was waiting for the ending to identify the aftermath and "morning after" each yearly Purge. How do they interact with their city-mates and acquaintances following a night of self-indulgence? Does everyone simply return to life-as-normal? How do the emergency personnel clean up the mess left over? I eagerly awaited the conversation between the dad and son (at supper) that was alluded to in the previews; but it should have tipped me off that I would leave the movie feeling unfulfilled and disappointed in a wasted terrific opportunity.