THE PURGE
Film Review
By Rennie Cowan
The
concept, at first, sounds so unrealistic that you figure this film is just
going to be another mindless slasher. Surprisingly, an idea that will never
happen in the real world turns out to be an entertaining story. No different
than an Elseworlds story, or What If, it simply goes outside of the world’s typical
canon of rationalism. But it doesn’t fail to entertain. The Purge is a horror story
with nowhere to run. Not even calling 911 will help you. If there is someone
you want to get even with, then you have 12 hours to do so (one day a year).
Ethan
Hawke plays the Dad to a typical middle-class white family who secretly hates
the Purge but doesn’t want others to know he does; so he pretends to agree with
it as society’s medicine for crime and therapy. His family is the lucky ones, because
apparently, only the wealthy can build their house into an electronic barricade
and shut the doors, windows and every opening leading to the outside for 12
hours. Having the proper security system, they will not be touched by the
Purge. Or so they think. This night doesn’t turn out as they expected. Their
family values are clearly against killing, but self-defense could change their
minds. That’s the real challenge. That’s the struggle. It is a battle of the
mind that eventually gets the house disarmed, and that is where the main
tension in the film arises. You want to hate those that purge, but you also
want that flicker of what is good to shine. The Purge sounds like a weak
concept at first, but at this point you are waiting for anyone to crack. You
are waiting for the strength of the human spirit to take a stand.
Realism:
Not very realistic. Though the thought of letting out your angst for mental
health for 12 hours a year might sound therapeutic, the main problem is common
sense. This film assumes that everybody wants to kill someone, and if they
could get away with it they would. Murder isn’t something everyone naturally
wants to go out and do, or at least we would hope. Another assumption is that
crime will drop and the economy will flourish if one night a year people get to
kill off those they have an axe to grind with (Purge). The cost of the
destruction to the buildings, cars and other personal property would be
enormous. Sadly, this would not benefit society but would be a huge cost for
those who are left. There goes your yearly tax return. And what if you do lose
a loved one? Funeral costs are not cheap, not to mention the life-shattering
experience that will change your life forever. I’d probably leave the country. And
many others would too.
If you
can suspend your criticism for less than two hours, you’ll realize
that for the budget of The Purge, it really is a fun watch. You could do worse
at the latest 3D release of a big Hollywood studio film that really doesn’t do
much for you (entertainment-wise). The Purge does a great job at building tension
in every scene. Think twice about your neighbors; keeping up with the Joneses
could be deadly in The Purge.
Movie
score: 7.9/10
