This was unlikable, boring, and unpleasant. I almost fell asleep

Rating: 4/10 (5 November 2013)

Why did people make this a box office hit? To be perfectly honest with you, I wasn't looking forward to this one. It seemed like a variation of The Strangers to me, and I was also reading a lot of poor reviews. I finally gave it a go, and it's what I expected. The potential is certainly there. If done right, home invasion story lines always manage to get to me, simply because your home is where you are supposed to be the most secure. The thought of psychopathic people invading your home is terrifying. I also liked the idea of allowing a purge (including murder) for a 12 hour period. It could have been lethal and memorable, but the execution is extremely flat, and I was bored silly. They did a decent job in The Strangers, but they really missed the boat with this one. I felt it lacked the proper suspense to really be effective, and there is nobody to root for. Ethan Hawke's character is almost as bad as the people invading his home. I understand wanting to save your family, but throwing a homeless man to the wolves? His character improves in the second half, but it was too little too, too late for me. I had trouble connecting to any of the Sandin family members. Ethan Hawke came across as a little too abrasive and blasé for me. It's not that he performed badly, but his character put a bad taste in my mouth. Lena Headey comes across as a bit better as the wife. I felt more sympathy for her. There isn't much gore to speak of, but we do get some nasty moments. We get some harsh gunshot wounds, and a really nasty broken nose, which made me cringe a bit. The ending was also underwhelming. A sequel has apparently been green-lit. Let's just say I don't approve of that, and I really hope they change their mind on it. I didn't like this movie at all, but others may feel differently
4/10