The somewhat unexpected success of the 2013 low-budget dystopian science fiction thriller The Purge – which grossed over $100 million worldwide against a modest production spend – convinced producers that they had a potentially lucrative and long-running horror franchise on their hands. Only a year later, a sequel, titled The Purge: Anarchy, was released, again written and directed by James DeMonaco, who clearly saw an opportunity to expand the scope of his nightmarish vision.
The plot is set in Los Angeles on 21 March 2023, exactly one year after the events depicted in the original film. America is still ruled by the regime known as the New Founding Fathers of America, which claims to have found a way to decrease crime and social tensions through the annual "Purge" – a twelve-hour period during which all crimes are legal and citizens, deprived of police and emergency services, are left to fend for themselves, either trying to survive or, in some cases, settling personal scores. It is a premise that, as the first film demonstrated, lends itself to potent political satire wrapped in visceral genre thrills.
The sequel follows three distinct groups of characters, introduced a few hours before the start of the Purge. Eva Sanchez (Carmen Ejogo) is a waitress who intends to sit the night out with her teenage daughter Cali (Zoë Soul), while her elderly and mortally ill father volunteers to be "purged" by bloodthirsty wealthy people in exchange for $100,000 for the family – a bleak illustration of how desperation drives the poor to sacrifice themselves for their kin. Once the Purge begins, they are attacked in their apartment by Diego (Noel Gugliemi), the building manager who is sexually obsessed with Cali, but before he can have his way, he is gunned down by a mysterious paramilitary group roaming the streets. Eva and Cali use the confusion to flee, with Eva vaguely hoping to find shelter at the apartment of her friend and colleague Tanya (Justina Machado). Meanwhile, Shane (Zach Gilford) and his estranged wife Liz (Kiele Sanchez) are stranded on the streets after their car has been sabotaged. Both pairs are met by the mysterious "Sergeant" (Frank Grillo), who has an agenda of his own but very reluctantly decides to protect them for a time. What follows is a desperate run for their lives as they are pursued by paramilitaries led by "Big Daddy" (Jack Conley).
Thanks to the success of its predecessor, DeMonaco had a significantly larger budget at his disposal, and this is reflected in a plot set across an entire city rather than a single house, with much bigger and more elaborate set pieces, a larger cast, and a slightly longer running time. This expansion allows the film to feel more cinematic, even if it sacrifices some of the claustrophobic intimacy that made the original so effective.
DeMonaco also uses this opportunity to build on the exposition of his future dystopian world, showing the Purge from the perspective of people on the lower rungs of society. What was only speculated upon in the first film – that the Purge is supported and exploited by the wealthy elite at the expense of average citizens – is here explicitly shown and stated by Big Daddy, who explains that his government-backed death squad increases the body count whenever private citizens seem unwilling to do the dirty work. In a tradition well-ingrained in American dystopian fiction, DeMonaco offers a glimmer of hope in the form of a well-organised anti-Purge resistance led by the charismatic Carmelo (Michael K. Williams), who provides the film's conscience and its most overtly political voice.
However, by trying to stuff as much material as possible into a single film, DeMonaco loses a bit of focus. When the mystery of the Sergeant and his motives is resolved at the end, it proves anticlimactic, yet DeMonaco still feels the need to subvert expectations with another, somewhat unexpected twist that undermines the emotional payoff. Much of the action that takes place before the final showdown occurs in very dark places, which makes things slightly confusing, though it also helps DeMonaco deal with censorship concerns and avoid graphic blood and gore.
Arguably the best part of the cast is Frank Grillo, an actor with real-life martial arts experience yet enough acting talent to successfully portray the enigmatic protagonist. In many ways, The Purge: Anarchy helped turn Grillo, one of the more reliable supporting players in Hollywood, into a star, and he reprised the role in the 2016 film The Purge: Election Year.
Ultimately, The Purge: Anarchy is a solid film, but it nevertheless feels slightly repetitive and is definitely inferior to its predecessor, which remains the tighter and more incisive of the two.
RATING: 5/10 (+++)
==
Blog in Croatian https://draxblog.com Blog in English https://draxreview.wordpress.com/ InLeo blog https://inleo.io/@drax.leo Substack https://draxster.substack.com/
InLeo: https://inleo.io/signup?referral=drax.leo Leodex: https://leodex.io/?ref=drax Hiveonboard: https://hiveonboard.com?ref=drax Rising Star game: https://www.risingstargame.com?referrer=drax 1Inch: https://1inch.exchange/#/r/0x83823d8CCB74F828148258BB4457642124b1328e
BTC donations: 1EWxiMiP6iiG9rger3NuUSd6HByaxQWafG ETH donations: 0xB305F144323b99e6f8b1d66f5D7DE78B498C32A7 BCH donations: qpvxw0jax79lhmvlgcldkzpqanf03r9cjv8y6gtmk9
