B-

I really liked the concept, the acting is solid all around (though Hawke's transition is a bit too quick) and the first 40 minutes when the tension bulds up are fantastic.

But then the second half arrives, most of the tension is gone and all of the characters are stupid (good guys and bad guys). It could also be turned into a drinking game. Each time a character is just about to be shot or killed in any other way, someone appears at the last second and saves the victim. That happens about 4-5 times. Too bad, could have been a very good flick.

Agreed. It has an interesting concept but it's not utilized well.

[spoilers] It doesn't help that with the first of stupid event of the film (kid letting the homeless guy in the home), the irritation from that didn't go away at all throughout the movie. I agree that the set-up is nice, the scenes with the intruders with the masks on the video camera are very creepy but the whole notion that they were willing to waste that whole night just to kill that one guy was idiotic to me. My friend (who liked it a lot) was telling me it was because he struggled and killed one of them but I dunno, the one who took off his mask was able to just pop off one of his friends without a problem. And I guess it's interesting that the film's choices of morality (letting the homeless guy in the house, not killing the neighbors) were the things about the movie that made me mad the most. Maybe that was intentional but it didn't help my opinion of the movie.

Overall I'd say it's an entertaining watch but not anything great. Lena Headey's great though.

D

Almost nothing about it works. The premise is sort of amazing and there are one or two interesting ideas, but the characters are as formless and uninteresting as humanly possible. They constantly split up for no particular reason. As a siege movie, the geography of the house is never apparent. Nearly every scene is shot in a close-up, as if the director forgot to shoot masters. As a result, the geography is always a puzzle.

Lecter mentioned a good first half, but I spent most of it cringing at long-winded exposition and embarrassing setups ("Hello, please notice my rolling baby head camera thing!"). And that's not even mentioning the ridiculous, utterly pointless boyfriend whose actions I hesitate to label a 'storyline.'

I agree with the crowd for the most part.

The concept is idiotic (most murder and theft is driven by the basic desperation created by poverty, not this notion every person is a closet Michael Myers, so "the purge" would hardly eradicate violent crime), yet also, in a way, neat because it seems aimed at the wealthy Republican set and their clear disregard for the poor and for marginalized people in general ("Social programs? Vomit!") and because there is a certain potent, foreboding atmosphere to the early scenes of this suburban neighborhood preparing for a night of mayhem.

To be honest, I enjoyed the heavy-handed satire more than the intended scares, which are just so routine. The Strangers' carnival-faced home invaders are scarier. The original Straw Dogs' milquetoast-husband-goes-ape-shit-protecting-his-home third act is more disturbing and nuanced (and, sue me, far more exciting). As for the main antagonist, Michael Pitt called; he wonders when his performance in the American version of Funny Games will be returned.

Oh, and is it not strange the African American homeless man (who may also be a veteran since the camera seems to linger on his dog tags a few times) whose humanity is so integral to the plot is never given a name, titled instead the "Bloody Stranger" in the end credits. Bit dehumanizing, no?

I will give it...I don't know, a C.

THE PURGE

I liked the concept of there being a free for all night of endless criminality with this family caught in the crossfire. It did bring up some ideas of this purge being used just to eliminate the poor and weak or maybe those who need help from the govt to survive rather than the media explanation of it being used to relieve the pent up anger that people have for certain people for whatever reason. That said, the film doesn't get into all that. It just mentions it in passing. It's really just any home invasion/defense storyline. I hated the kids in the film. Was this the boy's first Purge or something because why is opening that system and bigger issue is why he even knows the code. The girl was pretty ridiculous. What was she so annoyed about? Her boyfriend had a nice boyfriend type plan of action with no sense of consequences. All that said, the film really got somewhat saved for me when the tables got turned on the wife. Then you have the black man popping in but she deciding that no more lives will die that night. I loved that whole thing. I loved the idea of thinking how those neighbors are gonna have to sit and run into her every day for a whole year just dying inside that they didn't kill them.

Grade - B

By the way - if the purge was for real and crime had been decriminalized, I don't think that people would mostly go for murder. In fact, I think robberies would be the #1 thing people would do. I don't really think the economy would handle it all that well if once a year all major banks would be robbed.

That was on my mind. "So there's no robbery or rape, then?" For all the talk of how the U.S. economy is in fantastic condition, something like the Purge would terrify small businesses.

I'm sure they have purge insurance.

you totally should have coined Purgesurance there!

Yup. Maybe that'll be The Purge 2?

I actually thought this was really entertaining and will probably buy the Blu-ray. There are quite a few problems present which is why I can't give it a higher grade - the characters make a lot of stupid decisions and in addition the potential the plot has is never fully expanded upon - but I had a great time and thought it was mostly pretty suspenseful and tension-filled. The performances from Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey were also very solid. B

I forgot to mention that it's only 85 minutes long but feels like a miserable two hours plus.

Really? I felt like this movie ended as soon as it started, which was one of my main issues with it. It ended and I was like...wait, that's it?

The premise is fascinating and interesting to ponder, but the movie never expands on most of the interesting ideas (or addresses the numerous follow-up questions that a so-called purge would prompt) and kind of just devolves into a generic home invasion movie like I expected. It's not terrible or anything (and definitely has its creepy moments) but it's sort of irritating how it wastes such a unique setup. I liked Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey, though neither has the time to begin fleshing out much of a character. C

Few things are duller to me than characters I don't like wandering slowly down hallways with flashlights by themselves, and this flick is chock full of that bullshit.

I found it a tad bit humorous that no one was mad at the son for essentially ruining their lives. It felt like Max Burkholder was still playing Max Braverman from Parenthood in this, despite evidently not having Asperger's. lol

Loved the concept, but they didn't do much with it. And I just don't understand why the family constantly separated. What was the point of the daughter constantly running away from the family? Why do they tell the son to go hide in a wide-open location like the basement and expect him to handle himself? Just a lot of random things bring the film down, while so many intriguing questions about a "purge" aren't at all addressed. But it's still pretty creepy and intriguing for the idea alone. I liked.

It was entertaining, and that's really all I asked for from it. Should have been longer though. I agree with Libs. Felt like it just started and then it was over.

B

I haven't had the chance to see this yet, but I just noticed what has to be the king of review headlines describing this film...

"Before Sunrise: Into Darkness"


(...to give credit where credit's due - - it belongs to this review, which I of course, haven't read yet.)

This is a rapidly forgettable film.

Somewhat entertaining, but still really generic and forgettable. The showdown in the game room with Ethan Hawke going to town with the shotgun is easily the best part, but unfortunately not long enough IMO.

If more of the movie had been that visceral and exciting than I would have like this a WHOLE lot more.

This film is in no way as bad as people claim.

YEs the characters are pretty stupid but it's fine for what it was.

B-

The Purge

The best horror movie of 2013, easily. It was so tense and actually horrific that just normal people can change into monsters and want to kill their neighbours because some guys deem it "legal". Wow. So scary. The family should have done a lot of things throughout the movie to help themselves, so I was shouting at the screen a few times with suggestions. There are also a few plot holes that I would have liked to have been touched upon. But none of this mattered because the heart of the movie was really unique.

The bad guys trying to get into the house were scary as fuck too. I thought the black man being the saviour was rather soppy (and I had already guessed that would happen early on) in a bid to show that you just never know who your hero will be and to never judge a book. I thought the ending where she didn't kill the neighbours is just horrific. How can you possibly live with these people now?? Knowing that they were going to kill you!?

B+

Yeah I saw this a couple of weeks ago and thought it was set up very well and very creepy. For some reason I thought it had terrible WOM when released so that lowered my expectations but as far as these types of films go - this was very good.

I have to agree. I wanted to see the new one but felt I should at least watch the first one beforehand to say I watched it. But it wasn't half as bad as I thought it would be.

Of course, the characters are straight out of People Do Dumb Things in Horror Movies 101. I let it go when the kid let the homeless guy into the home. I even let it go when the daughter, distraught from her boyfriend getting smoked after trying to kill her dad, wanders aimlessly into the darkness of the mansion. But after a while, the bad decisions made by what I have to assume are otherwise intelligent people are hard to ignore.

Still, it flew by at just under 80 minutes (minus credits), and the entire concept is fun, even though I could never picture this happening. I guess that's the point.

B-