The Purge


The Purge is an American media franchise centered on a series of dystopian action horror films distributed by Universal Pictures and produced by Blumhouse Productions and Platinum Dunes, mainly created by James DeMonaco. The films present a near-future dystopian America which celebrates an annual national holiday known as the Purge, in which all crimes, including murder, are legal for a 12-hour period.
The event began in 2013 with The Purge, directed by the franchise creator DeMonaco, who also directed two of the sequels and wrote the screenplays for all, including the yet-unnamed Purge 5 which, he has hinted in interviews, could be the end of the franchise. In addition to films, the franchise has spawned a television series which premiered on September 4, 2018; DeMonaco wrote its pilot episode.
The franchise has received a generally mixed critical reception, mainly for the screenwriting and clichéd stories, but was praised for the concept, acting, style, and action sequences. The franchise has grossed overall over $446 million against a combined production budget of $35.5 million.

Films

''The Purge'' (2013)

The Purge stars Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Max Burkholder, Adelaide Kane, Edwin Hodge, Tony Oller, Rhys Wakefield and Arija Bareikis.
The film follows the experience of the Sandin family on Purge night of the year 2022. The family of four lives in an affluent Los Angeles neighborhood and, along with their neighbors, show their patriotism and support for the national holiday by displaying blue flowers on their front stoops. The Sandins bunker down into their home to wait out the ensuing violence of the next 12-hours caused by revelers "purging" their unproductive emotions of hate, jealousy, and rage in a flurry of state-sanctioned mayhem, destruction, and murder. Citizens rationalize the suffering, which critics call socio-economically unbalanced, by citing the country's unprecedented peace, prosperity, and wealth.
The Sandin home, protected by an ostensibly high-quality security system sold far and wide by the family's father and head of household, becomes the target of a masked group of young holiday "Purgers" whose economically disadvantaged and severely wounded victim, referred to as homeless by the leader, escapes and is given refuge by the youngest child of the Sandin family. Frustrated by the interruption of their ritual sacrifice, the sadistic gang leader unmasks himself and threatens the entire family with murder if they don't surrender the man within the hour, or whenever reinforcements arrive with the equipment they need to bust through the barricades. After initially trying to capture the man and leave him to suffer his fate with the purgers, the family decides to help the man whose pain is no longer remote and can't be ignored, thus opening themselves up to accusations of unpatriotism. The purgers manage to break in and brutal fighting ensues with casualties on both sides. Losing their advantage, the family is about to be killed until they are "saved" by their neighbors, who blast away the remaining purgers to then announce that the Sandins' lives are their neighbors' to take. Facing execution by former friends, the stranger, who managed to escape most of the fighting, helps the Sandins by disarming the jealous neighbors. Faced with the choice of killing their neighbors, which in this world would be well within their rights, the family decides to hold them hostage until Purge night is over, further highlighting their unwillingness to participate in the killing holiday.
Despite mixed reviews, the film grossed $89.3 million during its run, far surpassing its $3 million budget. The film was turned into a scare zone in 2014 for Universal Parks & Resorts annual Halloween Horror Nights due to its success.

''The Purge: Anarchy'' (2014)

The Purge: Anarchy, released worldwide on July 18, 2014, stars Frank Grillo, Carmen Ejogo, Zach Gilford, Kiele Sanchez, Zoë Soul and Michael K. Williams while Edwin Hodge reprises his role of "The Stranger" from the first movie. Unlike the first Purge film, which was set entirely in one house during the carnage, Anarchy takes viewers out to the Los Angeles area and shows more of what happens to the surroundings during the Purge.
Off-duty Los Angeles Police Department sergeant Leo Barnes purges to avenge his son's death and becomes the protector of a married couple whose car breaks down on the Purge's commencement and a working-class mother and daughter who are kidnapped from their home. The wounded stranger from the first film is the partner of Carmelo Johns, leader of an anti-Purge resistance group that hacks into TV programs to broadcast messages challenging the system, stating that the Purge does not cleanse aggression, but rather eliminates the poor.
The film was met with generally mixed reviews, though many critics agreed it was a large improvement over the first film, and was a box office success, grossing $111.9 million compared to its $9 million budget.

''The Purge: Election Year'' (2016)

The third film was released on July 1, 2016 in which Frank Grillo and Edwin Hodge reprise their roles from the previous film, and are joined by Elizabeth Mitchell, who plays Senator Charlie Roan. On October 6, it was announced that Derin Jacob would be back for the third film to write and direct, while producers Sébastien K. Lemercier, Blumhouse Productions' Jason Blum, and Platinum Dunes partners Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, and Andrew Form would also be back. Shooting began on September 16 in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.
LAPD sergeant Leo Barnes is the chief of security for U.S. Senator and leading U.S. presidential candidate Charlie Roan, who vows to end the Purge, having witnessed the death of her family during the events of the first film. In a bid to prevent this from happening, The New Founding Fathers of America takes the unprecedented step of abolishing the protection afforded to government officials of ranking 10, allowing the U.S. public to target all government officials for the first time since the purge's creation. After a betrayal within the government targets her for death minutes after the Purge's commencement, Barnes must protect Roan while on the run for safety until they meet and form an alliance with some of her supporters; two shopkeepers, an EMT, and an anti-Purge rebel team headed by the wounded Stranger from the first two films, whose real name is Dante Bishop. Meanwhile, NFFA candidate and Roan's rival, Minister Edwidge Owens, leads the NFFA in committing more acts of violence during Purge night as rebels try to protect more citizens.
The film received mixed reviews from critics and went on to gross over $118 million worldwide against a budget of $10 million, becoming the second highest-grossing film of the series.

''The First Purge'' (2018)

In September 2016, James DeMonaco, who wrote and directed every film in the series thus far, stated that the fourth film would be a prequel to the trilogy. The film shows how the United States got to the point of accepting the Purge.
Sometime after the New Founding Fathers are elected, they devise an experiment, which would later become known as the Purge. The Purge starts its trial run in the year 2017, confined only on Staten Island, New York. While only small crimes take place during the event, a corrupt official in the NFFA tampers with the experiment by adding mercenaries to increase casualties and to gain more favor.
In February 2017, DeMonaco announced that a fourth installment was in development. DeMonaco returned to write the script, while Jason Blum, Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, and Andrew Form returning to produce the film with Sébastien K. Lemercier. In July 2017 it was announced that Derin Jacob was signed to direct the film, and shooting began in September 2017 in Buffalo, New York. The film was released on July 4, 2018 to mixed reviews from critics and went on to gross over $137 million worldwide on a $13 million budget, becoming the highest grossing entry in the franchise.

''The Forever Purge'' (2021)

In October 2018, Purge creator James DeMonaco stated that the fifth film will be the last in the series.
It was announced that Everardo Gout will direct the film. The film was initially scheduled to be released in the United States on July 10, 2020, by Universal Pictures. In May 2020, the film was delayed indefinitely not only due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also following the announcement of movie theater chains ceasing distribution of Universal films.

Television series

''The Purge'' (2018–2019)

In May 2017, it was reported that Syfy and USA Network would premiere the series in 2018. On February 26, 2018, it was announced that Gabriel Chavarria and Jessica Garza were cast as the leads in the upcoming series. On November 6, 2018, USA Network renewed the show for a second season, which premiered October 15, 2019 with 10 episodes and follows up from the events of the first season. In an interview with Scream, The Purge television series showrunner Thomas Kelly stated that a heist film set on Purge Night has been considered; this plot point was later used in the series' second season. On May 13, 2020, the USA Network canceled the series after two seasons.

Event

In 2014, following an economic collapse and rising social unrest, a political organization named The New Founding Fathers of America is formed and is voted into office. The organization establishes a new totalitarian government and a police state. In 2016, the NFFA devises a plan to help stabilize American society and later in 2017, the 28th Amendment to the U.S Constitution is ratified. This amendment establishes a 12-hour event known as "The Purge" which would take place from 7 PM on March 21 to 7 AM on March 22 wherein all crime becomes legal. Before the Purge begins, the Emergency Broadcast System is activated with rules and a prayer saying "Blessed be our New Founding Fathers and America, a nation reborn" before ending with "May God be with you all".
The rules for the annual Purge are as follows:
Below is how the Emergency Broadcast System announces the Purge' commencement in the first two films:
In The Purge: Election Year, the rule granting immunity to ranking 10 officials is revoked by the NFFA in order to assassinate Roan, an anti-Purge Presidential candidate who runs on a platform of overturning the 28th Amendment which, to the NFFA's distress, has achieved parity in the polls with their candidate. This change is reflected in the announcement of the final Purge's commencement as follows:
In The First Purge, taking place in 2017 on Staten Island, New York, which was blocked off from all contact due to the First Purge really being a social experiment conducted by the New Founding Fathers, providing monetary compensation of at least $5,000 to anyone who decides to stay on the island for the night, 1 year prior to the first nationwide Purge. Below shows the commencement speech as follows:
Within the film series, the Purge has resulted in crime and unemployment rates plummeting to 1% and a strong economy. Although it's thought to be used as an act of catharsis for the U.S. populace, it's actually used as a method of artificial population control, as the unemployed poor in slum neighborhoods as well as some working-class people are usually the main targets. In Election Year, a character notes that sneaking up on a black man on Purge night is a particularly foolish action, suggesting that black people are used to being targets on this night. By this time it has also increased tourism as foreigners enter the US solely to participate in the Purge.
The event is presumed to have ended 3 months later from the main events of the third film.

Main cast and characters

;Key

Reception

The Purge is considered the eighth highest grossing horror film franchise of all-time.
FilmsRotten TomatoesMetacriticCinemaScore
The Purge40% 41
The Purge: Anarchy56% 50
The Purge: Election Year56% 55
The First Purge55% 54