Please Purge Hollywood Of It's Overuse Of The Same Ol' Plot Devices

Rating: 6/10 (16 September 2013)

The Purge definitely has an interesting, and a very relevant to our times, premise. I would even go so far as to say that this film could have been among the best horror films ever made, that is if it were executed with more believability/creativity. The suspension of disbelief here is just too weak for the film to be anything more than a fairly mediocre horror film, and that's definitely disappointing given the interesting and somewhat unique premise. In my view the first 30 or so minutes of the film are quite good. The suspense builds up decently, the characters seem somewhat interesting, the premise has unique possibilities, but then we just end up getting overwhelmed with too many familiar/lazy plot devices to remain held in the grips of the film. The young son in the film becomes basically the goat of stupidity behind practically all of the problems that the main characters have to deal with, and it ends up feeling like a cheap way out. It ends up mostly being a very standard and overdone Hollywood film, because it lacks enough intelligence to deliver truly engaging turning points and an overall solid story. The film had promise, but definitely lacks the creativity to make it a standout.
In my view the film is no better than a 6 out of 10, at the very most. Perhaps a 5 would even be more fitting. However one aspect of the film makes me give it the extra rating of a 6. This is definitely the most interesting part of the film and something to think about. There is no doubt, a somewhat hidden message does straddle this film...
The film basically tells a story about how America has become a more productive and peaceful country since introducing the purge to society. A period of 12 hours a year in which murder, and basically any other crime(Certain weapons are still forbidden) is entirely legal. The film lightly paints us a portrait of how this time of purge is basically to the main benefit of the wealthy. They are the only people who can really afford to defend themselves or hide very well during the dangerous time of the purge.
The main story of events in the film revolves around some very privileged and snobby college types who are out to kill the worthless 'swine' of the country who are of course the homeless and downtrodden of society, the weak and worthless if you will, who supposedly drag the country down. The main person we see them after is a homeless man who is clearly dressed in an army green jacket and has dog tags around his neck. At the end of the film, there is a news report about how many people have gathered at a candle light vigil to pay tribute to those whose lives were sacrificed during the purge, in order to help make the country a safer place. I think you can do the math yourself. It is quite apparent that the hidden message is that the elite, with their noses firmly stuck in the air are too self absorbed to care about common folk, they feel they are above others and that they have the right to use the commoners and especially the poor. With the homeless war vet, it is very obvious that the film draws a parallel between the films world of the purge, and our real world in which the elite are continuously using the poor people and common folk as their dogs of war so to speak. Make of it what you will, but clearly their is an attempt to draw a parallel between how America's elite think very little of, and have no regard when it comes to using the less fortunate of society.
While this is far from a masterpiece, I do recommend one viewing to those who are interested, reasonably intelligent, and fans of the horror genre. It could have been a lot better, however it also could have been far far worse. It has its moments.
6/10