Though I was left a little cold by The Purge, I applauded the concept for trying to do something new with the home invasion horror genre. In broad strokes, all laws are suspended for 12 hours every year to better regulate crime in America. The Purge gets out so much aggression with a free pass on murder and mayhem that the rest of the year goes by pretty smooth. The original film focused on one family trying to keep the house barred up against young adults behaving badly. The Purge: Anarchy, now on its third title after The Sequel to The Purge and The Purge II, seems to be aiming for a more exciting concept. Forget the poor little rich people with the state of the art security systems. What happens to the everyday citizens who don't get off the streets in time to seek refuge from The Purge?
I'm really excited to see The Purge: Anarchy. The original film just felt too insular, trapped in that one house when the onscreen TV footage kept showing far more unnerving action. Sure, when the final act kicked in and the family fought back, it turned into a great action horror film. Until that point, it was a little too quiet and subdued for the inventive world of The Purge.
The sequel teases the idea of two people trapped outside city limits when The Purge begins. That's terrifying. They have no weapons, no protection, and no plan of survival. Even if they reach their home, it might already be invaded by the half-day criminals set loose on the country. Judging by the teaser, they're not going to get home.
Writer/director James DeMonaco has a fantastic idea for a horror series in his hands. It's all going to come down to execution. The Purge: Anarchy will be the make or break moment for the series. The original film had solid box office and mixed to negative reviews. He's going to have to pull out all the stops to get critics and audiences on his side for the long run.
As far as I'm concerned, The Purge is screaming to be an anthology horror series. There is no end to the amount of stories that could be told about this dystopian future. Focus on three or four groups of characters each film and see how they struggle to survive. Set up a sequel that's all about campaigning for the future of America based on the viability of The Purge as a crime-fighting tool or focus on a police officer, a firefighter, and an ER doctor that are helpless to do anything until the bells go off and public services are restored. Just don't get so bogged down in one tiny little story that the audience is just waiting for the blood to flow onscreen.
The Purge: Anarchy is slated for theatrical release on 20 June. Will you be watching?
