The Purge is all cheap thrills and spills

Rating: 4/10 (4 June 2013)

The Purge had every potential to make a mark on the horror genre. The concept was original and with the producers of SINISTER and INSIDIOUS behind it, there were high hopes for myself (and i'm sure many other horror fans). However, the reality, was far from pleasing.
The Purge took it's original concept and rushed through it with no real backing as to what this whole idea was even about. It was flimsy and lacked basic explanations about who the characters were, when this Purge concept came to be and why exactly it has actually helped society only have 1% crime-rate. (and no, saying ridding someone of their inner hatred for a night isn't sufficient, thank you very much).
The film moved painfully by as I sat there cringing at it's cheap thrills and it's extremely forced use of 'creeping' the audience out. The masks were scary, don't get me wrong, but were forcefully used and placed inappropriately around the film in order to gain a cheap reaction from the audience as the rest of the story seemed to sink in a puddle of cheap quick sand. Shots of people in the masks on swings, tilting their heads, skipping through the house (which seemed incredibly unnecessary when attempting to kill a family), was just a little too forced and was my confirmation that the director had definitely lost all artistic integrity (and/or hope) in this film.
The shock end that saw (SPOILER AHEAD) the lead character Ethan Hawke die was about the only risky and exciting thing that the film did. In a film that ended up feeling like a cross between a cheap horror TV programme and a constant string of people who are 'just about to die but get saved in the last second', killing of the lead character was somewhat of a relief. At least James DeMonaco, who has actually had no directing experience before this, did something right. Too bad it was too late.
The Purge is just another disappointment in a genre that is desperately trying to reinvent itself, but keeps losing it's footing. Oh well - at least the bitch neighbor got what she deserved. (Kind of. Even though I know everyone was secretly wanting her to get shot)