The Purge should have and could have been so much better.

Rating: 5/10 (6 July 2013)

The year is 2022, crime is at an all-time low of 1%. This is due to an act known as The Purge. For a 12 hour period, all crime including murder is legal. The Sanders family is about it feel the ramifications of this act.
This concept, although absurd, is something that could have been an intense thrilling horror show. The concept is a great one for entertainment. Yet The Purge fails to capitalize on this concept and instead it confines itself to a one location low budget thrill show in the style of 2008's The Strangers. There are many areas this film could have excelled at, but unfortunately misses the mark on most of them.
I imagine if James DeMonaco, the writer and director, who has worked with Hawke multiple times before, had expanded his story to take place outside one house, the results might have been much better. Think of the creativity of the kills, the thrills of the chase, the dangers of not knowing who else is out there. Instead we are stuck inside a house with some stupid characters who do stupid things only to advance the plot. you'll find yourself yelling at some of the characters, specifically the son, who is responsible for this whole mess the family find themselves in. The young lad lets in a wounded man who is being hunted by a group of teens of are taking part in the Purge. They know the guy is in the house, so they will do anything to get in.
Of course to make the film more entertaining, they eventually do. Then it becomes a cat and mouse game between the family stuck inside and the would be killers with masks. The leader of this gang is a rich kid who is mild mannered and is willing to kill his best friend if he becomes annoying. While the character is somewhat interesting, this film desperately needed a more prominent villain. Key elements like this could only make the film better. I feel like there was a good film in here somewhere but certain choices hinder it from becoming something that people will talk about years from now. One decision I think it failed at was the ending.
The Purge had the chance to end on a real downer, something depressing and shocking that will get people talking. Instead it ends on a predictable note, which leaves you completely dissatisfied. The Purge should have ended with a bang, not a whimper.