The story revolves around a family whom choose not to take part in the annual purging, but rather hold down in their fortress of a house. When a man screams for help however, the youngest boy in the family attempts to help him by letting him in their home, soon to find out he was the target for a professional group of murderers who give the family a choice: give them their man or they will all die. Most of the family are forgettable, but the Father played by Ethan Hawke (who features in movies like Sinister) is a particularly enjoyable character to watch.
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| "Polite Stranger" (Rhys Wakefield) |
It's an important thing to know that if you don't like child actors, then the Son in the family will probably annoy you as much as he did me. The trailer alone led me to hate his character, as he consistently makes stupid decisions which place the whole family in danger. There's few actors in the film that stand out as incredible, but the leader of the intimidating group of assailants (Rhys Wakefield) seems vaguely like Heath Ledger's Joker, which is always a positive.
The real question is though: was the film as good as the concept? Honestly, I'd have to say no, as there were times where it relied on stereotypical jump-scares to keep you on your toes, but it's definitely not a bad movie. The first half which sets the scene and builds tension was incredibly enjoyable, and some fight scenes were intense, but towards the end The Purge became slightly predictable, especially with the deaths of certain characters.
Verdict
The Purge is an incredibly unique concept for a film, but one which is not consistently as engrossing as it seemed. It's still well worth seeing if you're a fan of the horror/thriller genre, as there are some incredibly tense moments, but stereotypical clichés and mediocre acting bring it back from being a must-watch. 7.5/10
"Just remember all the good the purge does..."
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