Starring: Frank Grillo, Elizabeth Mitchell and Mykelti Williamson
Directed By: James DeMonaco
Rated: R
Running Time: 105 minutes
Universal Pictures
Our Score: 3.5 out 5 Stars
I had to go back and read my old “Purge” reviews because I had to refresh my mind about what I’ve liked about these movies. The storytelling and political/social themes in the “Purge” movies are always the weak link when they should be the strongest. The contemporary commentary, whether it’s class warfare or racism, is surrounded by scenes of absolute savagery. So its weakest is surrounded by its strongest, violence. This new one is no different, but some minor things make it more robust than previous installments.
For the first time in the series, a character has carried over. Leo Barnes (Grillo) has gone from his half-hearted attempt at purging in the second movie to becoming the security detail for Senator Charlene Roan (Mitchell) for this third installment. The Purge, a 12-hour period in which all crime is legal, is slowly being revealed as a sadistic way for the 1% to profit off murder and keep the poor population under control.
Senator Roan, who has her own horrific Purge story to tell, is pushing for the abolishment of the annual Purge in the latest U.S. presidential election. That doesn’t sit well with the New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA), the shadowy political party behind the Purge. So with the next Purge days away, the NFFA plots Roan’s assassination on a night where anyone, and nearly everyone, will be indulging in murder.
It’s crazy to think that back in 2013, “The Purge” was a twisted fantasy about the one night a year Americans get to let out their inner demons and kill one another. The scope was minimal and the unanswered questions have slowly been answered in the two sequels. “The Purge: Election Year” introduces more rogue cells of lower class residents rebelling against the NFFA. But for the first time we get to see the political landscape and how much it’s changed.
The NFFA is effectively a dictatorship that props up a puppet leader, generally a religious demagogue who inspires the masses to believe that the one night of killing is a ritualistic form of purification in God’s eyes. They look at the annual Purge as a religious cleansing and trip to the confession booth. The movie incorporates more factions, including an underground group of doctors and nurses that rescue people and offer sanctuary on the night. We also get a look at the booming tourism industry of foreigners coming to partake in an “American classic”.
Director/writer, James DeMonaco, tones down the overwhelming political overtones, hopefully because someone told him he’s not good at being subtle. Instead of blunt force social commentary, DeMonaco ratchets up the grotesque imagery of people donning monstrous masks and killing innocents in the most gruesome of manners. In a sick way, the scenes of executions and corpses hanging from trees are great palate cleansers for exposition and dialogue downtime. It also helps that DeMonaco finds more unique ways to expand the “Purge” universe without overwhelming the audience.
The annual “Purge” movies have oddly become therapeutic to watch. If you’re looking for a satiric look at the 2016 political landscape here in America, it’s not here. The only real world satire I was able to pick up on was an allusion to President Obama. It’s safe to assume that the script was probably written well in advance of the Trump train that’s steamrolled across America since its attacks are more general than specific. But the “Purge” movies do offer something that a visit to your psychologist supplies, a release.
“The Purge: Election Year” is the best of three, but still more of the same. It’s not a smart, tongue-in-cheek look at our inherently violent culture, race relations, or the current American class struggle. But it’s a chance to watch and cheer on our most animalistic tendencies, killing people who are holding us down. If that visceral experience isn’t oddly salubrious after a long day of watching the state of political discourse right now in America or reading ignorant comments on social media, I’m not sure what is.