The Purge (2013)

Like most of the people I know, I was expecting something more from "The Purge". Unlike the other home invasion horror films that have been recently made, such as "You're Next" and "The Strangers", the audience is given the reason why the killing and violence are about to happen. That doesn't say that there aren't any sudden twists of reveals in "The Purge", only that the characters know ahead of time that the violence is coming or is at least possible. So why did "The Purge" fail to live up to expectations? For me, the movie felt more like an action flick than a horror film. There's little reason to be scared when the victims know why they're being scared, knowing full well that the killers are not insane.


The annual Purge is about to commence, a patriotic holiday of sorts where the American population is allowed to commit murder, rape, and assault on anyone they like, except for high ranking government officials. The Sandin family is your typical well-to-do family unit, with father James as the bread winner, earning his wealth by selling the very security systems that is going to keep his family safe. He has a beautiful and caring wife, Mary, a teenage daughter, Zoey, who is seeing a boy too old for her, and a tween son, Charlie, who doesn't agree with the meaning behind the Purge. It's because of Charlie that the Sandin family becomes involved with a group of Purgers after Charlie opens the security doors and lets an unknown man into their home after he begged for help. It's only a matter of time before the Purgers force their way in and try to Purge the world of their chosen target as well as the Sandin family.