Violent extremes saves the day

THE PURGE (2013)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

It is hard to fathom if Americans today feel their free will is restricted. If a 12-hour period existed where they could engage in any crime and not get arrested, would they? I dunno but I highly suspect that murdering people for fun is on anyone's agenda, unless you already have a propensity for murder. "The Purge" is set in the year 2022 where murder is allowed during the so-called 12-hour "Purge" night - you can kill, rob, cheat, steal at your heart's content and no police or hospitals are on hand to provide help. The bigger question is would just anyone do this, or is everyone willing to commit heinous acts because they can?

Ethan Hawke is James Sandin, a home security specialist living in a nice home with his family (he has built an addition with the help of selling security systems in the neighborhood). Tension is already in the air because, on this given night, the Purge begins and that means having those steel shutters clamped down all around the Sandin residence. Lena Headey is James's wife, who is very concerned but holds her emotions in check. There are two kids in tow: Charlie Sandin (Max Burkholder) is the technological wizard who crafts a night vision camera inside of a mutated baby doll (the film's creepiest image), and Zoey (Adelaide Kane) is the teen girl who allows her boyfriend to sneak in to her bedroom. All is well until the Purge occurs and one suspects that in this luxurious suburbia, nothing much happens. That is until a homeless guy screams for help with a posse poised to kill, comprised of neighboring yuppies wearing masks. Guess who allows the poor homeless man inside?

"The Purge" is strong stuff for a while, extremely well-acted and tightly paced with a promising premise. This story could have gone in any direction - what if the Sandin family turn against each other? What if Zoey's boyfriend (who sneaks in before the Purge) tries to kill his girlfriend's father? What if the homeless guy is not what he seems? There are many what if scenarios but the one that the filmmakers chose is not the best. Instead of evoking the moral implications of murder as free will when allowed by the state, "The Purge" becomes a blood-drenched and occasionally bloodless thriller. Executions are aplenty and though there is major suspense in the very notion of a home invasion thriller, there is not much surprise. This is the kind of movie that Sam Peckinpah could have made in his sleep, yet Peckinpah would have relished the very premise itself. The movie avoids it and avoids asking tough questions. It is all about the murders and one after another occur in unison, thereby eliminating the very tension it began with.

I am not completely dismissing "The Purge" (and Ethan Hawke has made some fascinating films of late) but it is disappointingly thin. It could have been the "Clockwork Orange" of the 2010 era, evoking America's need for a bloodthirsty country to cut down on population once a year and bring unemployment down to 1% (boy, President Obama would have loved that percentage). By the time we get through the high mortality rate, "The Purge" is nothing more than an average home invasion movie.