The Purge: Just Kill Me Now

Rating: 4/10 (19 October 2014)

Welcome to, The Purge, a dystopian thriller that follows an upper class and extremely white family for an entire night! Every year the annual purge commences for 12 straight hours. All crime is legal, including murder; it's a celebratory time for statewide catharsis. The idea sounds tremendously promising, but in the end, that's all this film amounts to, a good idea.
James DeMonaco is the writer and director of this horrendous horror film. Once again, he as proved himself to be one of the class-c writer/directors that we love to hate. Other films that fill this man's repertory include The Kill Point, Skinwalkers, and Assault on Precinct 13. Have you heard of any of them? I certainly haven't. Its clear that DeMonaco seems to have hit the jackpot on the idea for The Purge and he's cashing in every penny it's worth.
This film has already cultivated an immense amount of popularity all over the country. It's turned into so much more than a movie; it's becoming a franchise. For example, the annual Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando has opened their first exhibit of the year "The Purge: Will You Survive?" They're expecting to have tens of thousands of visitors this season. This exhibit is based on The Purge's sequel, now in theaters, Purge: Anarchy. It was released an astounding 13 months after the original. This lack of proper production tells us only one thing; that this is just Hollywood "cash cow" film that really doesn't attend to the more artful aspects of film just like its predecessor.
This film follows most of the formula that goes into the creation of a hit studio film: plenty of action, a crude love story, and the always-riveting protagonist versus antagonist relationship. The "evils" (the only name fitting for such an antagonist) of this story are quite the mysterious clan. They are bent on eradicating this one human "swine" of society. They may even be classified as the 'cleanup crew' of the lower class. When they are eventually posed against the protagonist, the results are awfully plain.
What really kept me watching this film was the comedy behind each character's motives and idiotic arbitrary decisions. Without spoiling too much, people do die in this film. And I'm actually relieved that they do! In fact, they really deserve the death that they had coming. It's almost as if they were shouting, "Run! Quick! Head for the creepy and deadly graveyard!" The dialogue doesn't amount to much either; it's unrealistic and terribly plain. The decisions that each character makes often turn on a dime. Supporting the premise that these characters are indeed, painfully stupid. When a man cannot chose, he ceases to be a man. Therefore, death in our situation is absolutely operative.
The film also touches on several elements of social and moral commentary. But the operative word remains "touches on". None of these issues are fully explored or solved. We've got the 1% vs. society exemplified in the prep school blazers faced off against the lower echelon of rank. We're also left with the desire for human catharsis. This comment surrounds the plot entirely, yet doesn't reach the audience on any type of deeper level.
Cinematography and plot play a massive role into what genre this movie actually falls. It battles on the brink of a thriller and horror. Certainly the freakish child's toy and the evil's circus-like masks lead us to conclude that this film is clearly classified as horror. However, it's the cinematography and plot that lead us in a different direction. Shadows, handy-cam, and the use of the elemental unknown keep everyone's eyes glued to the screen. Of course, the plot is painfully unrealistic and the action on the screen is idiotic, yet all of that is forgotten when the livelihood of our protagonist is put on the stake.
If you didn't catch the earlier allusion to A Clockwork Orange, I'd now like to comment on the relationship both films have with one another. Given that A Clockwork Orange is a piece of art, and quite frankly I don't believe The Purge will ever come close to what we call a classic film, I still believe certain cinematic elements are shared between the two. The "evils" are a clear ode to the droogs gang that pride themselves in a night of ultra-violence. The arc of each protagonists is opposite in both stories. In Clockwork, Alex is reformed to believe that a lawful life is the only way to live. Ethan Hawke's character (James) on the other hand, finds that the only way to survive is to kill the predator. In the end of both films we are left with the premise that the world we live in is kill or be killed.
There is one redeeming quality I find to be the clear essence of this film. That is the thought of the piece, or main idea if you will. It's inventive and riveting. That's what got the original $64.4 million worth of audience through the box office on opening weekend. However, the plot was terribly dull and unimaginative. What really upsets me is the many different (and more entertaining) roads this film could have taken. This points to how DeMonaco sacrificed many of the film's deeper elements for more action driven drama. Hopefully the many sequels this film is surely promised will fill the void.
In the end, I was left unsatisfied with the film. Several modes of moral and social commentary were mentioned, yet never investigated. So much more was capable of this film, and I certainly believe it fell short in its delivery. What else do you expect from a cash cow film? If you're lulled by an intriguing storyline, go ahead; spend your precious time with this poor excuse for cinema. And while you're at it, you might as well watch The Purge 2, 3 and 4.