The Purge

The events of this film take place some time in the near future. Apparently, life in America had turned to crap (probably around the current time of the Obama administration because there are massive political undertones here and Obama is the cause of everything that's bad in the world right?) and the "new founding fathers" decide that in order to fight massive unemployment, crime rates through the roof, high poverty rate and the general heinousity of everyday life, America needs a release. That release comes in the form of 12 hours of crime. That's right, from 7pm to 7am, 1 night a year, the average American gets to load his or her assault rifle with a high capacity clip and take out their frustrations. Emergency services are suspended and no one can be convicted of anything during the "the purge." Because of the purge, crime rates are down and unemployment is at 1% (apparently the former unemployable are working in the home security and gun industry). Due to this, the new "founding fathers" decide not to mess with a good thing.

Ethan Hawke is the patriarch of the Sandin family, he's got a lovely home, a lovely wife, 2 great kids (one of which is a nubile 16 y/o girl who is dating an 18 y/o dude whom Hawke disapproves of...more on that obvious plot line later) and a fantastic job. This great job you ask? Why he's only the top salesman of the firm that sells nearly impenetrable home security systems that come in quite handy during the "purge." One of those state of the art systems is currently keeping Sandin's home safe.

So the purge starts and the Sandins settle in for a quiet night since they support the purge don't actively participate. Then 2 things happen simultaneously; first, Zoey's boyfriend sneaks into the house prior to lock down in order to "talk" to her Dad about their relationship. Second, Charlie (the youngest son) lowers the defenses to let someone into the home who's being chased. Here's where things get interesting, it seems that the victims of the purge tend to be the poor. that's the reason why poverty rates are low. The African-American gentleman that Charlie lets in is wounded and because he's wearing a set of dog tags, seems to be a veteran as well (sadly the U.S. government hasn't had the best track record of dealing with war veterans). Needless to say Mr. Sandin is hardly pleased with Charlie letting in a stranger to their home during the purge. As it turns out this "bloody stranger" is being chased by upper middle class white teenagers who really want to kill him (it's the privileged white kids that wear creepy masks that are the scariest).

See what I mean?

The prep school kids outside give the old "send him out or we come in" ultimatum just as Zoey's boyfriend tries to shoot Sandin because they won't let them be together. Sandin shoots the boyfriend, in self-defense (score for the gun lobby!) but the stranger gets away. On a side note, I was wondering just what the boyfriend was thinking? "Hey sweetie, I just shot your father so we can be together, isn't that great! Let's go have sex!" I'm no relationship expert but I have to believe that she might hold that against him as her Dad wasn't a bad guy. He was just trying to protect his 16 y/o daughter. My god, what a tyrant! Eventually the Sandins can't produce the stranger and the kids are able to smash through the impenetrable security system. Mr. & Mrs. Sandin split up (that almost never happens) and while Mrs. Sandin stumbles around in the dark, Mr. Sandin makes runs into trouble at every corner and makes like Russell Crowe at the Victory Motel...

The Sandins find the stranger, mildly torture him and are about to turn him over in order to rescue themselves but they can't do it. The lead creepy teen manages to kill Sandin but not after he kills off the majority of preppies. Just when the rest of the family is about to be done in, the neighbors come by to save them. But hold on a minute, the "rescue" is actually the neighbors wanting to kill the Sandins because they have it better than the rest of the community. Since the preppies did all the leg work of tearing down the defenses and now the neighbors can finally exact a little revenge for the Sandins "rubbing it" (the "it" is their wealth & affluence although it didn't look like anyone in the neighborhood was hurting financially) in their faces. Just when the Sandins have breathed their last breaths, the stranger saves the day. They group then spends that last few hours of the purge sitting at the dining room table in awkward silence because Mrs. Sandin wants no more killing.

So the gist of the purge is that the well off finally get what they want, that is to legally kill poor people (the burden of society), which translates into non-Caucasians. They have the money to buy the guns to kill people who can't afford guns, they can afford security systems to keep people out and the poor who may survive the night can't afford to pay for health care to mend their wounds from the purge.

I guess that the writers and the director wanted to make a point that this is a possibility where our society could be heading. Class warfare stacked in favor of the well off because the laws favor them (sounds eerily familiar doesn't it?). The rich going "hunting" for homeless vets, welfare recipients and illegal immigrants (though I got the feeling that the legal status of anyone poor didn't matter). It's a shot at the religious right (and they are nut jobs, that's not up for debate) since the  new founding fathers standing are side by side with Jesus wrapped in the flag have saved the nation by allowing people 1 night a year to vent their frustrations with no consequence. Then there's the fact that the gun industry and the 2nd Amendment people must be getting themselves wet over: everyone has guns and is allowed to use them. The gun lobby will tell you that more guns in the hands of law abiding citizens will solve all the problems. In this film they get what they want.

The thing that got me was the fact that people seemed so eager to go out and "hunt people." The preppies who stormed the Sandin residence were thrilled with the prospect of killing the Sandins and the stranger up close and personal where things get bloody and that's not easy to do. It's not easy for trained professionals or battle hardened soldiers. It would seem that since society is numbed to violence (another undertone) it's easier to commit these violent acts.

Film wise it wasn't bad. It was gruesome but when people get blasted with a shot gun at point blank range it's going to get messy. The messages of the film just come out and punch you in the face as a kind of a warning. It was a bit too obvious what the filmmakers were trying to say. If you see it with friends it should spark some sort of debate during the post film discussion process (people have that right, it's not just me?).