THE PURGE (2013) – The Review

Well, we’ve already had two looks at the far-distance future at the multiplex so far this year. Both OBLIVION and AFTER EARTH  show the “big blue marble” as a hostile, toxic terrain unable to support human life (similar themes pop up in ELYSIUM in just a few weeks). That utopia shown in the TV shows “Star Trek” and “The Jetsons” are remnants of a too optimistic time (as SF authors say, “The future aint’ what it used ta’ be!”). For this new flick, we don’t travel centuries ahead, but rather just under a decade. This way we don’t have to deal with many new futuristic “doo-dads” and gizmos. And this will allow the film makers to comment, often satirically. on present day issues. Much as 2009’s DISTRICT 9 tackled immigration. And further back we have the satiric jabs of TOTAL RECALL, ROBOCOP and DEATHRACE 2000. Our new film is not applying this winking take on a science-fiction or action story (although there’s plenty here). We’re squarely in horror/thriller territory as we experience THE PURGE.

It is 2022 in the US of A. Unemployment’s at an all-time low of 1%. And Wall Street is posting record numbers. This is tought to be the results of something the “new founding fathers” instituted : “the purge”. On one day of the year (March 22) from 7 PM to 7 AM, the law is not enforced. Citizens may indulge in their most brutal fantasies. The police are off duty along with all emergency services. This opportunity to act out is thought to make the country a more tranquil, productive place. All the pent-up aggravation and aggression is expelled during those yearly twelve hours. And of course, somebody’s gonna’ make a tidy profit off of this. One of those profiteers is James Sandin (Ethan Hawke), the top sales group leader at a home security company. James has a beautiful home in an elite gated community (he sold a security system to all his neighbors) that he shares with his lovely wife Mary (Lena Headey), his sixteen-year old daughter Zoey (Adelaide Kane) and kid brother Charlie (Max Burkholer). Sure Zoey ‘s dating a fella’ who a tad too old for her and Charlie’s a bit sensitive and high-strung (he jots down his body temp and heartbeat rate several times a day), but they’re good kids. All’s going according to plan in the last hours before the purge begins. They post blue geraniums on the front yard in support of the event as the neighbors throw a party down the way. At 7 PM sharp (as the sirens wail) James flicks the switches and the house is locked up tight. Steel plates lower over windows and doors as multiple security camera feeds pop up on the big screen TV. But thanks to a couple of unexpected guests they find that their impenetrable fortress is anything but. Will the Sandin family survive their ordeal and live to see March 23?

Anchoring the film, and the family, is Hawke as the too-slick go-go salesman who’s overdue for a wake-up call. He’s really clueless about his kids and neighbors, but is actually a fairly decent guy. When the, uh, stuff goes down he’s forced to make decisions that clash with his morals. Hawke is a fine conflicted hero in this tale similar to his put-upon father in last year’s sleeper spooker SINISTER. Headey is very good as the house manager that is able to call on hidden reserves of strengthand go into action, much like her role in the short-lived Terminator TV spin-off. Kane has the surly teen act down pat, but often veers too far in whiny hysteria as the night continues. Burkholder can get a bit too precious as he works his favorite gizmo (which is put to different uses when they’re under siege) but he strikes just the right notes as a kid that’s tired of being treated as the baby while still needing his parents’ protection. Special note should be taken of Edwin Hodge who brings a feverish nobility to his role as a stranger-in-need. And of course we should mention the showier performance by Rhys Wakefield as the smug, smarmy leader of a group of privileged revelers who can’t wait to get down and dirty (and bloody). His cold, calm , precisely articulated threats delivered glaring straight into the monitors are throughly unnerving.

Writer/director James DeMonaco jettisons the social commentary satire for most of the intense mid-section as he pays his respects to the original NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Like the folks from that 1968 classic, the Sandins are trapped in that house with nowhere to run. But we’re not dealing with shuffling ghouls now, but manic sadistic thugs looking to score a death fix. But other questions arise as the characters plot and arm themselves. Are the lives of these rich “haves” more worthy of saving than the homeless “have-nots” ? Is the Purge just a government-sanctioned way to whittle down the numbers of “parasites” who can’t afford to lock themselves in for that long night? But these debates don’t get in the way of the scares. One group of “purge-ers” don frozen, happy leering masks as they threaten and maim almost like costumed mascots at a murder theme park (but would they repeated refer to their prey as swine?). In a gripping sequence one of the “good people” almost relishes the chance to indulge in the event as he defends his home (maybe he’s got some pent-up aggressions too). Sure there’s too many creeps popping up, out of focus, in the foreground, too many characters drifting away inexplicably into the shadows, and some big lapses in logic (what if someone goes into labor or has a heart attack during those twelve hours?), but this horror show delivers some good thrills as it gives us some societal problems to consider. Yeah THE PURGE has plenty of blood, but there’s some brains thrown in for good measure.

3 Out of 5 Stars