Home invaders wearing creepy masks. Survival of the fittest. Apocalyptic future. Chaos. I should have known it was too good to be true.
A movie like this doesn't need to make sense, per se, but it needs to push the limits, and an attempt at a story with some underlying meaning or political agenda wouldn't hurt. They've accomplished this before, however, the only thing "The Purge" pushed, was my patience.
Ethan Hawk stars as the savvy (I guess) home security salesmen James Sandin. We meet him just hours before the start of the annual purge, a 12 hour window where all bets are off.
Steal.
Rape.
Kill.
Anything goes.
The idea being this annual purge cleanses the human soul of it's hate, among other inherent evils, and as a result, unemployment and crime is at an all-time low in the US.
Okay. Fine. I'll believe that. What I won't let go is how completely moronic everyone under Mr Sandins' roof turns out to be. Does the annual purge also cleanse you of common sense? Now, don't get me wrong, sensibility certainly takes a back seat in horror films, and more specifically in slasher films, which I love, but I'd categorize "The Purge" under thrillers, and there are just too many non-sensical moments here to make "The Purge" watchable.
A glaring misstep in this whole ordeal was the utter lack of control Mr. Sandin and his wife, played by Lena Heady, have over their two children. There's lots of talk about the "sissification" of the next generation of adults, but under the circumstances this family is faced with, well, no Mother/Father team would act like this duo.
And these security systems that Mr. Sandin sells? Don't get me started about his explanation of the product that has brought him his fortune.
The premise of "The Purge" is an idea someone could really sink their teeth into, but the continuation of that idea to its end results in a movie no one should even bother smelling.
Shame on me... for thinking they could take a good idea and turn it into a watchable movie.
On a good note: "The Purge" comes in under 90 min.
