The Purge: Election Year (15.)
Directed by James DeMonaco.
Starring Frank Grillo, Elisabeth Mitchell, Mykeiti Williamson, Joseph Julian Soria, Betty Gabriel and Terry Serpico. 109 mins
Bernie Saunders doesn't make horror/ thrillers vaguely reminiscent of the films of John Carpenter, but if he did... I doubt he'd make The Purge: Election Year. But one of his less sophisticated supporters might well do – actually, he probably has. In its third installment the political themes implicit in the premise of an America run by the New Founding Fathers (NFF) which has an annual purge night where for 12 hours any crime can be committed with impunity, are brought bluntly but entertaining to the fore.
A female independent candidate, (Mitchell) is running for president on an anti-Purge ticket, claiming that it disproportionately affects the poor. She is doing well in the polls but first she has to make it through Purge night and a concerted assassination attempt by the NFF which leaves her out on the street with only her security guard Grillo (returning from the previous film), some brave citizens and black militia groups for protection.
The wonder of the Purge films is that such an implausible idea, can be so credibly developed. It never becomes remotely believable – the purge doesn't just make murder legal but also legitimises crimes against property, which would never be allowed – yet watching it on screen it seems such a natural, unforced manifestation of the American psyche. You can imagine patriotic Americans embracing it as expression of their nation's tradition. You don't need a character shouting “it's Halloween for adults,” spelling out a point made three films ago, but as groups stalk the streets in fancy dress the debauchery and slaughter is like a pageant of American historical disgraces – lynchings, race riots, serial killing. The irony of a blood thirsty society that was founded by puritans and retains a strong puritanical streak is also explored.
I do like these Purge films – their garish satirical horror strike just the right note – and I think this may be the best one yet. It loses some impact in its second half when the outlandish horror gives way to gun battles. The film will be labelled as crude libtard propaganda, but the effect is less clear cut. The obvious irony is that the blood lust condemned in the film, is what drives the audience's response to it – we want to see the baddies killed, as nastily as possible. When the presidential candidate starts bleating on about not getting revenge, and that killing them would make us just as bad as them, I think everybody in the cinema hates her. Other than the two main protagonists, all the sympathetic characters are black or immigrants, and they are all working together to bring down the traditional white elite. No right-wing republican is going to enjoy this film, but they will feel it legitimizes their fears.
Directed by James DeMonaco.
Starring Frank Grillo, Elisabeth Mitchell, Mykeiti Williamson, Joseph Julian Soria, Betty Gabriel and Terry Serpico. 109 mins
Bernie Saunders doesn't make horror/ thrillers vaguely reminiscent of the films of John Carpenter, but if he did... I doubt he'd make The Purge: Election Year. But one of his less sophisticated supporters might well do – actually, he probably has. In its third installment the political themes implicit in the premise of an America run by the New Founding Fathers (NFF) which has an annual purge night where for 12 hours any crime can be committed with impunity, are brought bluntly but entertaining to the fore.
A female independent candidate, (Mitchell) is running for president on an anti-Purge ticket, claiming that it disproportionately affects the poor. She is doing well in the polls but first she has to make it through Purge night and a concerted assassination attempt by the NFF which leaves her out on the street with only her security guard Grillo (returning from the previous film), some brave citizens and black militia groups for protection.
The wonder of the Purge films is that such an implausible idea, can be so credibly developed. It never becomes remotely believable – the purge doesn't just make murder legal but also legitimises crimes against property, which would never be allowed – yet watching it on screen it seems such a natural, unforced manifestation of the American psyche. You can imagine patriotic Americans embracing it as expression of their nation's tradition. You don't need a character shouting “it's Halloween for adults,” spelling out a point made three films ago, but as groups stalk the streets in fancy dress the debauchery and slaughter is like a pageant of American historical disgraces – lynchings, race riots, serial killing. The irony of a blood thirsty society that was founded by puritans and retains a strong puritanical streak is also explored.
I do like these Purge films – their garish satirical horror strike just the right note – and I think this may be the best one yet. It loses some impact in its second half when the outlandish horror gives way to gun battles. The film will be labelled as crude libtard propaganda, but the effect is less clear cut. The obvious irony is that the blood lust condemned in the film, is what drives the audience's response to it – we want to see the baddies killed, as nastily as possible. When the presidential candidate starts bleating on about not getting revenge, and that killing them would make us just as bad as them, I think everybody in the cinema hates her. Other than the two main protagonists, all the sympathetic characters are black or immigrants, and they are all working together to bring down the traditional white elite. No right-wing republican is going to enjoy this film, but they will feel it legitimizes their fears.
