An exercise in poor taste

Rating: 5/10 (14 November 2016)

Starting out with a silly basic premise of allowing anarchy to reign unchecked for 12 hours once a year, this film has reasonably decent performances from its cast but is sold out by generally dull writing and consistently mediocre and uninspired direction. The idea that crime can be controlled by allowing a free-for-all one night a year is ridiculous, and it says much about a society which is so incapable of controlling itself that it needs to resort to a purge instead of finding healthy ways to channel aggression.
The writer/director relies far too much on stupid choices made by the characters (I counted four from the son before I just stopped counting) for his plot twists, and also far too much on last second saves of someone's life when all seems to be lost (again, I counted four separate incidents before I stopped counting). The cast works hard, but there's zero chemistry between the parents and nothing but smirking, mincing lunacy from the main antagonist. The fixed, passive-aggressive grins as everyone wishes everyone a safe night became simply annoying.
People who don't mind a bit of barely-motivated gore and violence will likely enjoy this without caring about the poor quality. People who want some intelligence in the films they watch would do better to look elsewhere.