[Review] The Purge - 5th June 2013

★★★★ - Leaves Alot To Be Desired [For rating system, see information tab at top of blog]

Release Date: 2nd June 2013

Director: James DeMonaco

Writer: James DeMonaco

Cast: Ethan Hawke - Lena Headey - Max Burkholder - Adelaide Kane - Tony Oller

Review
 

There is one simple reason for going to see ‘The Purge’: its concept - which is an interesting one! In a future society, all forms of crime, including murder, are legal for twelve hours once a year in a period called ‘The Purge’.

The film, starring Ethan Hawke, is made by the same producers as those responsible for ‘Sinister’, which also featured Hawke. This was a modern horror film that I highly regarded so I thought; why not give ‘The Purge’ a chance?

Unfortunately, ‘The Purge’ disappointed. While the concept of the film is interesting, its execution is lacking in a number of ways.  The narrative follows a family who, during the purge, choose to hide out in their house protected by a modern advanced security system. When their youngest son allows what appears to be a desperate homeless man into their home to shelter, the family end up being taken hostage by a sinister group, intent on murdering the homeless victim.

Due to this, the film is set completely in one location; the house. This means that the true extent of the interesting purge concept is not really explored. Instead, the film focuses on horror and suspense which are executed in a predictable manner. A horror film has to be frightening, and ‘The Purge’ is totally lacking in this aspect. While in parts it possesses an atmospheric intensity, it does this using common horror techniques; a few select stingers, some gory deaths and sinister shots of the protagonists in masks. It offers nothing unique, leaving it predictable and…for lack of a better word, boring. It projects no real sense of the intense fear or suspense which, after all, should be the main focus of a horror film.

In addition, the film does also not deliver in terms of the aesthetics. Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey give acceptable performances, realistic enough for this type of film, but the director, James DeMonaco did not imbue the work with anything particularly original.  

‘The Purge’ – A simple, standard horror film that unfortunately wastes an interesting concept.