The Purge (2013 film): Difference between revisions

The Purge
The Purge
	File:The Purge poster.jpg Theatrical poster (Hospitality Services version)
Directed by	James DeMonaco
Written by	James DeMonaco
Produced by	Michael Bay; Jason Blum; Andrew Form; Bradley Fuller; Sébastien Kurt Lemercier
Starring	Ethan Hawke; Lena Headey; Adelaide Kane; Max Burkholder
Music by	Nathan Whitehead
Production; companies	Platinum Dunes; Blumhouse Productions
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	May 2, 2013 (Stanley Film Festival); May 31, 2013 (United Kingdom and Ireland); June 7, 2013 (United States);
Running time	85 minutes
Countries	United States; France; Belgium
Language	English

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The Purge is a 2013 American thriller film directed and written by James DeMonaco. The film stars Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey.

In 2022 the United States has become "a nation reborn", with crime and unemployment rates hitting an all-time low. To allow the venting of negative emotions, the government has instated a 12 hour period called 'The Purge', during which almost all crime (including murder) is legal and emergency services are suspended. This Sandin family plans to spend the night safely secured in their home, but the presence of a stranger may alter their plans.^[2]

Plot

In the year 2022, the United States has been taken over by a series of multinational corporations known only as the "New Founding Fathers of America", who in order to keep the population under control, have instituted an annual 12 hour period, commencing from 7pm on March 21st to 7am on the morning of March 22nd. During this period all criminal activity, including murder, becomes legal. This annual event is known as "The Purge". The only rules during The Purge is that "Level 10 ranking Government Officials" must remain untouched and usage of "Class 4" weaponry and above is forbidden. During this, emergency services are suspended and all external calls are unanswered. Anyone who does not comply with the rules is put to death by hanging. The Purge is designed to serve as a catharsis for American citizens, giving them a chance to vent all negative emotions however they desire and express dark impulses. The result is a prosperous America with unemployment rates as low as 1% and a huge decrease in crime.

James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) is a wealthy home security developer living in a picturesque neighborhood, who has made a fortune exploiting fears of the annual purge, by selling security systems that turn homes into impenetrable fortresses. At home, Mary Sandin (Lena Headey) struggles with her two children: teenager Zoey is dating a considerably older boy named Henry (Tony Oller) who her parents do not approve of, and Charlie (Max Burkholder), who questions the need for The Purge. Mary speaks to her excitable neighbor, Grace Ferrin (Arija Bareikis), who explains that the neighborhood is holding a "purge party" however it is unknown whether the Sandin family is invited. When James arrives home, the family has dinner and discusses why the purge is an important part of society.

After dinner, Charlie fixes a remote controlled device he uses to film events around the house and Sandin and Mary begin the process to lock down the house. Soon afterwards, a siren wails, commencing the start of the purge; James activates the lockdown, shuttering all the windows and doors. Zoey asks to be excused to her bedroom, where she finds Henry, who sneaked into the house before the house went into lockdown. Henry indicates his wishes, which are to talk to James and convince him to allow Henry and Zoe to continue seeing each other.

James and the family watch the events of the purge unfold via video monitors in the lounge, however Charlie notices a bloodied and beaten stranger (Edwin Hodge) being chased outside the house. The stranger begs to be given sanctuary so Charlie, against the demands of his parents disarms the security system and allows the stranger in the family home, just before James locks the home down. While confronting the stranger, Henry also reveals himself and tries to kill Sandin. However, Sandin shoots back at Henry. In the confusion, the stranger disappears into the home, while Henry and Zoey make their way to another part of the home, where Henry dies from his wounds. James, Mary, and Charlie regroup in the monitoring room where they monitor the situation outside, then James leaves the room in search of Zoey and the stranger.

The masked strangers, led by a polite but sinister vigilante (Rhys Wakefield) trace the stranger to the Sandins' home and address an ultimatum to the Sandins via the surveilance system -- hand the stranger, a homeless man, over within the hour or they will break into the house and murder everyone inside.

Using his remote controlled device, Charlie finds the stranger and leads him to a secret hiding place, where he won't be found by James and Mary. Zoey inadvertently stumbles onto the hiding place and is held at gunpoint by the stranger, but is freed after a brief struggle. James and Mary tie up the stranger, who shown wearing military-style dog tags.

Initially Sandin and Mary prepare to hand over the stranger to the group, who are hanging around on the porch and in the play area, however James, realizing that Charlie is horrified and afraid of the purge ultimately refuses to comply to the group's demand. James admits to Mary that the security system isn't completely impenetrable and will fight off the intruders.

The intruders successfully break into the household. The Sandins and are forced into a siege to defend the house, culminating in Sandin killing 5 the intruders. The leader of the group stabs James in the stomach with a machete, but is shot and killed by Zoey.

The neighbors hear the commotion at the Sandin household and join forces with the remaining family to fight the intruders. Just as the last of the group is killed the neighbors reveal that they too had planned to kill the family. They round up the family members, including a wounded James, who dies from his injuries.

Just as the neighbors are about to attack the family, the bloodied stranger comes to the family's aid, killing some of the neighbors. Mary contemplates killing her "friend" from earlier in the film, however she decides against it, as too many people had died that night. Whilst Mary briefly checks the clock, Grace, Mary's neighbour, reaches for the gun in one final attempt to kill Mary before the event is finished; however, aware of her intentions, Mary hits Grace with the gun before smashing her face into a glass table. With Grace heavily bleeding out of a broken nose, the surviving neighbors leave the house and walk away as the Sandin family watch the emergency services arrive outside of their home.

Cast

Ethan Hawke as James Sandin
Lena Headey as Mary Sandin
Max Burkholder as Charlie Sandin
Adelaide Kane as Zoey Sandin
Edwin Hodge as Bloody Stranger
Rhys Wakefield as Polite Stranger
Tony Oller as Henry
Arija Bareikis as Mrs. Grace Ferrin
Tom Yi as Mr. Cali
Chris Mulkey as Mr. Halverson
Tisha French as Mrs. Halverson
Dana Bunch as Mr. Ferrin
Peter Gvozdas as Dr. Peter Buynak
Karen Strassman as Newscaster

Release

The film will be released on May 31, 2013 in the United Kingdom and Ireland.^[3] It was planned to be released in the US on the same day, but was later rescheduled for June 7, 2013.^[2]

Reception

The Purge received mixed reviews from critics. It received a score of 54%, "rotten", on website Rotten Tomatoes giving an average rating of 5.7 out of 39 reviews. It currently holds a score of 46/100 on Metacritic signifying mixed or average reviews.

References

^ "The Purge' (15)". British Board of Film Classification. April 30, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
^ ^a ^b "Release Date Change for The Purge". dailydead.com. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
^ "The Purge". Empire Cinemas. Retrieved May 18, 2013.

External links

Official website
The Purge at IMDb

[1] "The Purge' (15)". British Board of Film Classification. April 30, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2013.

[reporter-2] "Release Date Change for The Purge". dailydead.com. Retrieved April 25, 2013.

[3] "The Purge". Empire Cinemas. Retrieved May 18, 2013.

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@@ Line 41: / Line 41: @@
 The masked strangers, led by a polite but sinister vigilante ([[Rhys Wakefield]]) trace the stranger to the Sandins' home and address an ultimatum to the Sandins via the surveilance system -- hand the stranger, a homeless man, over within the hour or they will break into the house and murder everyone inside.
-Using his remote controlled device, Charlie finds the stranger and leads him to a secret hiding place, where he won't be found by James and Mary. Zoey inadvertently stumbles onto the hiding place and is held at gunpoint by the stranger, but is freed after a brief struggle. James and Mary tie him up the stranger, who wears military style dog tags.
+Using his remote controlled device, Charlie finds the stranger and leads him to a secret hiding place, where he won't be found by James and Mary. Zoey inadvertently stumbles onto the hiding place and is held at gunpoint by the stranger, but is freed after a brief struggle. James and Mary tie up the stranger, who shown wearing military-style dog tags.
 Initially Sandin and Mary prepare to hand over the stranger to the group, who are hanging around on the porch and in the play area, however James, realizing that Charlie is horrified and afraid of the purge ultimately refuses to comply to the group's demand. James admits to Mary that the security system isn't completely impenetrable and will fight off the intruders.