Then, comes the siren. This is the moment that you start to feel the blood rushing through your veins. Your feet can't help but stomp on it's own. Your hands sweating like never before. You are ready to kill. You are in a dystopic America set in the future, where tonight, just like every year, there is a 12-hour period during which all crime, including murder, is legal.
This is the exact same feeling that I had ever since I've watched the very first 'Purge' movie way back in 2013 starring Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey and an unforgettable performance by Rhys Wakefield. The first movie was stylized as a home invasion thriller, with a group of masked young adults and criminals wielding guns and wearing masks terrorized the Sandin family, who helped a badly battered man that took shelter in their home. The film worked more as a horror story which made me fall in love with the movie right away.
Then in 2014 came the sequel, 'The Purge : Anarchy' which centered around a group of strangers who are stuck outside the city's downtown during the night of the Annual Purge. This one starred Frank Grillo, Carmen Ejogo, Zach Gilford, Kiele Sanchez, Zoë Soul and Michael K. Williams. While the first Purge movie was set withint one house during the carnage, Anarchy took us out to the Los Angeles area and shows more of what happens to the surroundings during the Purge.
This year, we get another bloody, gruesome, and pretty violent sequel. But this time, we get a little bit of politics mixed into the concoction. With a title like 'The Purge : Election Year', obviously this film is trying to get as much controversial as it can be. More controversy, more hype for fans. And no doubt about it. It is probably the most bloodiest among the trilogy.
The film starts out with a grim flashback of the film's protagonist, a young Charlie Roan and her family being held hostage and tortured by a Purger before killing them. Eighteen years later, Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell), the sole survivor and now a Senator, attends a presidential debate for her campaign for the Presidency, with her main goal to end the annual Purge tradition. Members of the New Founding Fathers of America see her as a threat to their rule and revoke immunities on top government officials in order to eliminate her from the presidential race on Purge night. Aside from this main storyline, we are introduced to a separate group of people, all whom will play a vital role in the proceedings of the story. But the biggest character of them all is former police sergeant Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo) whose character returns from the second film of the trilogy. Here, he heads Charlie Roan's security team and is charged of protecting her on the night of the Purge.
The story is actually very different from the first two films, which is one of the best things about this series. Unlike most horror franchises where it follows the same villains, each of the film's series features a different storyline, alongside a new set of antagonists. In the first film, we have a bunch of rich kids who just want to play (and purge). Then, on the second movie, we see the rich people using their money and power to satisfy their lust for blood by buying and kidnapping poor people and murdering them to release their inner demons. In the third movie, we see an assasination plot transform into a horror roadshow. Although the idea of the Purge is just being recycled over and over althroughout, each film gives us a different serving of the same concept. A different look. A different feel. A different atmosphere. The first movie is the traditional home invasion flick. The second is somewhat similar to those teens lost in the woods slashers in the 80's (although this one's set in the city). The third one is like a chase film, ala-horror style.
The film's lead stars are also one of the best things about the film. Frank Grillo as Leo Barnes gives an amazing performance as he lead Elizabeth Mitchell's character Senator Charlie Roan along the blood stained streets on Purge night. He and Mitchell doesn't really have a stroing chemistry to start with but they act the part alright so it doesn't affect the whole film itself. The supporting characters were also good, from Mykelti Williamson as Joe Dixon, Joseph Julian Soria as Marcos and Betty Gabriel as Laney Rucker. Their mini story arc actually adds more content to the whole story as a whole, and is smoothly weaved into the main plot. But the character that I really loved the most is not the protagonists, but one of the villains.
“I already killed my parents. Now, I want my candy bar,” says the teenage shoplifter from Joe's store who came back to purge some more (after killing her own family). This girl's got some real talent, chanelling madness and teenage angst in over the top ways you can't even fathom. She is someone you should definitely watch out for.
As for the film's violence and gore, I must say that this sequel has outdone the first two films in all the big ways. It has more blood and more killings. More violence. More murder. More mayhem. From guillotine in the streets, to murder tourist (foreigners who fly to the US to join the mayhem and murder on Puge night), it's got everything you could ask for and more. But there is one scene though that I just couldn't take my mind off, featuring a speeding van adn two dancing teenage Purgers on the street. You'll have an idea why I loved it so much once you see the scene itself. One of the joyful moments of the film.
All in all, The Purge : Election Year ends the trilogy with a bang, making it the most fun, most violent and most unforgettable installment of the franchise. It's a movie meant to be enjoyed.
Highlights:
Party In The USA. A speeding car covered in strings of glaring Christmas-tree light rins through an abandoned street with Miley Cyrus' party song playing in loud speakers. Then, teenage girls wearing torn lingerie and grotesque masks comes out of the car, showing off their rhinestoned AK-47s. This is definitely a party to die for.
Russian Murder Tourists. Genius. Never really thought abut this since the first film.
That teenage shoplifter turned Psycho at night. She is madness personified.
The Guillotine in the street! T'was short but totally cool.
Rating: ✰✰✰✰✰
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