The Purge (film series)

The Purge (2013)

The Purge stars Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Max Burkholder, Adelaide Kane, Edwin Hodge, Tony Oller, Rhys Wakefield and Arija Bareikis.

An affluent Los Angeles neighborhood is home to the Sandin family. On Purge night 2022, the family becomes a target of a masked gang of young criminals due to their actions in helping a wounded Stranger being targeted by Purgers to take shelter in their home. The sadistic gang leader unmasks himself to threaten the family via the cameras that they would be murdered if they don't surrender the man within an hour. The Stranger later helps the Sandins when the purging gang and the hateful neighbors invade the household and attempt to kill them.

Despite mixed reviews, the film grossed $89.3 million during its run, far surpassing its $3 million budget. The film was turned into a scare zone for 2014's annual Halloween Horror Nights due to its success.

The Purge: Anarchy (2014)

The Purge: Anarchy, released worldwide on July 18, 2014, stars Frank Grillo, Carmen Ejogo, Zach Gilford, Kiele Sanchez, Zoë Soul and Michael K. Williams while Edwin Hodge reprises his role of "The Stranger" from the first movie. Unlike the first Purge film, which was set entirely in one house during the carnage, Anarchy takes viewers out to the Los Angeles area and shows more of what happens to the surroundings during the Purge.

An off-duty Los Angeles Police Department sergeant named Leo Barnes who purges to avenge his son's death becomes a protector of a married couple whose car breaks down on the purge's commencement and a working-class mother and daughter who are kidnapped from their home in their survival of the annual purge. Meanwhile, the wounded Stranger from the first film, whose name is revealed as "Dwayne", is the partner of Carmelo Johns, the leader of an anti-Purge resistance group that hacks into TV programs to broadcast messages challenging the system, stating that the Purge does not cleanse aggression, but rather eliminates the poor.

The film was met with generally mixed reviews, though many critics agreed it was a large improvement over the first film, and was a box office success, grossing $111.9 million compared to its $9 million budget.

The Purge: Election Year (2016)

In 2040, years after the events of The Purge: Anarchy, LAPD sergeant Leo Barnes is the chief of security for U.S. Senator and leading U.S. presidential candidate Charlie Roan, who vows to end the Purge, having witnessed the death of her family 18 years ago, during the events of the first film. In a bid to prevent this from happening, the NFFA takes the unprecedented step of abolishing the protection afforded to government officials of ranking 10, allowing the U.S. public to target all government officials for the first time since the purge's creation. After a betrayal within the government targets her for death minutes after the Purge's commencement, Barnes must protect Roan while on the run for safety until they meet and form an alliance with some of her supporters; two shopkeepers, an EMT, and an anti-Purge rebel team headed by the wounded Stranger from the first two films, Dwayne, who has assumed an alias by the name of Dante Bishop. The group are also aided by the notorious Crips gang to avoid an NFFA-loyal neo-Nazi/white supremacist paramilitary team from capturing the senator. Meanwhile, the NFFA candidate and Roan's rival, Minister Edwidge Owens, who has been set up as a candidate to maintain the status quo, leads the NFFA in committing more acts of violence during Purge night as rebels try to protect more citizens.

In August 2014, Jason Blum, who produced the Purge films, announced that a third installment is in the works. The third film was released on July 1, 2016 in which Frank Grillo and Edwin Hodge reprise their roles from the previous film, and are joined by Elizabeth Mitchell, who plays Senator Charlie Roan. On October 6, it was announced that James DeMonaco would be back for the third film to write and direct, while producers Sebastian Lemercier, Blumhouse Productions’ Jason Blum, and Platinum Dunes partners Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, and Andrew Form would also be back. Shooting began on September 16 in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Edwin Hodge and Frank Grillo reprise their roles from the previous film.

The Purge: The Island (2018)

In September 2016, James DeMonaco, who wrote and directed every film in the series thus far, stated that the fourth The Purge film would be a prequel to the trilogy. The film will reportedly show how the United States got to the point of accepting the Purge.

In February 2017, DeMonaco announced that a fourth installment is in development at Universal Studios. DeMonaco will return to write and direct the script, while Jason Blum from Blumhouse Productions and Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, and Andrew Form from Platinum Dunes will return to produce the film with Sébastien K. Lemercier. The film is scheduled to be released on July 4, 2018. In July 2017 it was announced that Gerard McMurray is signed to direct the film.

Television series

A television series about the formation of the Purge is also hinted by DeMonaco. The series would possibly deal with how the New Founding Fathers were voted to office after overthrowing the U.S. Government during an economic collapse and social unrest and how they ratified the 28th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as well as devising the Purge. In May of 2017, it was reported that Syfy and USA Network will premiere the series in 2018.

Plot prologue

In 2014, following an economic collapse and rising social unrest political organization named "The New Founding Fathers of America" (NFFA) is formed, overthrows the government, and are voted into office. The organization establishes a new totalitarian government and a police state. In 2016, the NFFA devises a plan to help stabilize American society and later in 2017, the 28th Amendment to the U.S Constitution is ratified. This amendment establishes a 12-hour event known as "The Purge" which would take place from 7:00 in the evening of March 21 to 7:00 in the morning of March 22, wherein all crime including murder becomes legal. Before the Purge begins, the Emergency Broadcast System is activated with rules and a prayer saying "Blessed be our New Founding Fathers and America, a nation reborn" before ending with "May God be with you all".

The rules for the annual Purge are as follows:

Below is how the Emergency Broadcast System announces the Purge' commencement in the first two films:

In the year 2040 (Election Year), the rule granting immunity to ranking 10 officials is revoked by the NFFA in order to assassinate Roan, a lawyer-turned-senator who has achieved parity in the polls with the NFFA candidate. This was done to prevent her from overturning the 28th Amendment.

Below is how the Emergency Broadcast System announces the Purge's commencement in the third film:

The Purge has resulted in crime and unemployment rates plummeting to 1% and a strong economy. Although it is thought to be used as an act of catharsis for the U.S. populace, it is actually used as a method of artificial population control, as the unemployed poor in slum neighborhoods as well as some working-class people are usually the main targets; in The Purge: Election Year, a character notes that sneaking up on a black man on Purge night is a particularly foolish action, suggesting that black people are used to being targets on this night.

Society

As such, society is divided about the idea of The Purge. While some support The Purge purely for economic reasons and are not Purgers themselves, there is significant support from Purgers, who use the opportunity as much as they can. Beyond those who do not actively support the Purge for ethical reasons, there are also hardline activists who oppose the Purge and are vocal about it. This was shown in Anarchy and Election Year.

Here are the types of society shown in the Purge:

The Purgers

The Purgers are the type of people who openly go on the streets and Purge. Some sit on vantage points with sniper rifles and kill anyone they can see, either for fun or to protect their assets (homes, stores). Mostly, Purgers are shown to be brutal sociopaths/psychopaths and sadomasochists, killing out of pure enjoyment and excitement.

Some target specific people for a variety of reasons. In the first film, the Ferrin family and their neighbors target the Sandins due to their resented wealth despite being wealthy themselves. Election Year depicts a similar act wherein a group of teenage girls targets Joe's general store after he catches them trying to shoplift a candy bar, while Leo Barnes attempts to make use of the Purge to enact revenge on the man who killed his son.

Many Purgers are seen wearing masks and costumes, which becomes a trademark in the series.

It is shown that the leaders of the NFFA government are Purgers themselves who kidnap people from their homes and Purge them in their own private area (Election Year). Wealthy people are seen to arrange contracts with victims before the Purge, agreeing to compensate the victim's family in return for a controlled kill. Other wealthy individuals have auctions, collaborating with hunting groups who kidnap people from the streets for money and bring them to a private area where wealthy Purgers hunt them in a private hunting ground.

Election Year introduces "Murder Tourists", a group of tourists from all around the world who travel to the U.S. to join or witness Purge Night since the US is the only country in the world with such a system. The same film also depicts NFFA Purgers and leaders as racists and white supremacists. One evidence is the paramilitary platoon they have hired to assassinate Charlie Roan, a presidential-hopeful lawyer and senator who has vowed to stop the Purge. The platoon leader, Earl Danzinger, is a neo-Nazi sporting Nazi symbol tattoos and some Nazi symbols sewn on his uniform as well as two Confederate flag patches. The paramilitary platoon members have similar Nazi patches but also have Ku Klux Klan symbols on their uniform and "White Power" patches sewn on their bulletproof vests.

Anti-Purgers

Anti-Purgers, introduced in Anarchy and also shown in Election Year, oppose the Purge. They oppose the Purge on the night itself by sabotaging auctions by wealthy Purgers and murdering them and/or holding makeshift hospitals where they treat both Purgers and Purge victims, regardless of their crime and behavior. They also send out EMTs in ambulance vans to help injured Purgers. It is shown that many hospital workers volunteer in such makeshift hospitals (since emergency services are inactive during Purge Night).

Anti-Purgers consist of lower-class, working class, and also some disciplined middle to upper class citizens who oppose the Purge due to ethical reasons of legally allowing crime for one night as well as out of empathy for the targets. However, the majority of the anti-Purgers are mostly lower-class citizens who realize that the true purpose of the Purge is simply to eliminate them. Many Anti-Purgers lost families and loved ones during the Purge, and as such, oppose it; the most famous case being Senator Charlie Roan, whose family was murdered in her sight during the 2022 Purge night. Anti-Purgers were introduced in Anarchy and are also shown in greater detail in Election Year. It is also shown that Anti-Purgers are former Purgers who decide to back out after realizing the damage they have caused, such as Sergeant Leo Barnes, who, in the second film, wishes to avenge his son following an accident with a drunk driver, only to end up sparing the driver's life at the last moment, then later employs himself as Senator Roan's personal bodyguard and chief of security before becoming her head secret service agent.

Others

Most of the society is not divided. Some people are supporters of the Purge because of economic reasons but do not actively Purge because they do not feel the need to Purge themselves and also somewhat oppose it. The Sandin family are an example of these, initially ignoring the Purge's brutal consequences to focus on the economic benefits until they become caught up in a Purge group's attempts to find their specific target. Others oppose the Purge, but they do not actively oppose it. Most of these people arm themselves and barricade their homes, spending the night watching over their houses or apartments.

Continuity

The NFFA took office in 2014 (mentioned in The Purge: Anarchy). According to the now defunct website NewFoundersAmerica.org, the promotional website for Anarchy, it is said that the NFFA devised the Purge in 2016. In 2017, the 28th Amendment is ratified, wherein a trial run of the Purge commences in March of that year and the first Purge takes place on the same month in 2018. The Purge is set in 2022, while Anarchy is set in 2023, designated as the "6th Annual Purge" on a radio announcement. In Election Year it is mentioned that the NFFA have been in power for over 25 years, placing the film in approximately 2040. The prologue for Election Year is set in 2022 concurrent to the events of the first film, as eighteen years pass until the main events take place. The Purge is discontinued once the senator is elected.