On the surface, THE PURGE appears to be yet another ‘family stuck in their house with a group of psychopaths outside trying to get in and kill everyone.’ Unlike those other movies, THE PURGE doesn’t take place in an isolated cabin.. it takes place in the middle of a crowded suburbia. In a world that has temporarily and willingly gone homicidal. Check out this trailer and see for yourself:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0LLaybEuzA[/youtube]
Wow, that’s one fucked up premise. Seems simple enough though. America is thriving. Unemployment and crime are at an all time low. Society has seemingly pulled away from the verge of collapse and has become a utopia. All of this is thanks to an annual holiday called, ‘the Purge.’
For one day a year, for 12 hours, all crime is legal.
I have a habit of doing this. I hear an amazing premise for a movie and I get all worked up. My imagination starts going. ‘All crime is legal.’ I can’t help but think of all of the terrible things that would occur within those 12 hours. Neighbors turning into monsters. Lovers becoming murderers. Honest people becoming criminals. Then, the 12 hours would end and everyone would simply go back to their daily lives. <Shudder>
If society knew that for 12 hours, every year, it could do whatever it wanted, would our world be safer? Would everyone curb their dark instincts if they knew they could freely act on them? Is all crime about opportunity? Is the main deterrent of evil the fear of getting caught and prosecuted? Would this work?
Uh.. No, you ding dong. This would absolutely not work. People would still be assholes 364 days of the year and bigger assholes on the night of the purge. But, movies like this work better when you just simply go with it. Will it be good? Possibly. I would much rather if this story followed a small group of people who go out and try to protect people and experience a wide range of madness, as opposed to one family defending themselves from one small group of crazies. Or.. If you’re really fucked, maybe have this movie be a collection of short stories showing how different people take advantage of the purge. How do I know this movie doesn’t have those elements? I don’t. I guess you’ll have to go see it and find out.
THE PURGE stars Lena Headey (GAME OF THRONES, DREDD) and Ethan Hawke (GATTACA, SINISTER). It hits theaters on May 31st 2013. Which, coincidentally is the same night I have my annual purge. ;)
