They say that big things start with one
simple thing – a good idea. The premise
of The Purge is exactly that - an interesting foundation upon which to build a
suspenseful narrative. That the film has
done $61M domestically thus far against a reported $3M production budget
reinforces that notion. Sadly though,
The Purge lacks the proper execution to take the film from a good idea and turn
it into the taut edge-of-your-seat narrative that is promised in the trailer.
The plot of the movie is set in a new America
that has achieved new economic and social prosperity born from an annual purge
– a twelve-hour window in which all crimes are considered legal. The goal of this is to allow citizens to
release the anger and frustration they accumulate during the other 364 days of
the year, though there are some socioeconomic undertones that are alluded to in
this film. The movie focuses on Ethan
Hawke’s James Sandin, who along with his family, becomes the target of a pack
of bloodthirsty yuppies.
Somewhere in that premise, there is an
interesting movie to be made.
Unfortunately for this film, most of the creativity was spent on the
overall concept. Every twist and turn conjured up by writer/director James DeMonaco is incredibly telegraphed
and would not surprise even the most casual movie viewer. This sucks a significant amount of tension
right out of the plot. DeMonaco
compounds this issue with his directorial choices – making the movie look and
feel like a direct rip off of The Strangers.
Equally as egregious as his lack of creativity, is his inability to take advantage of the opportunities to deliver chilling visuals and cheap scares; those moments that
are inherent in great and mediocre suspense movies alike. The end result then is a movie that fails to
deliver all that is teased in the first act.
In regards to the cast, there’s not much to
say here. The script is not the least bit sophisticated and the characters look and feel like cardboard cutouts. Ethan Hawke clearly approaches this film like
it’s an exercise in acting by numbers.
Really, there are moments where it feels like he is reading his lines
off of cue cards. Watching Hawke in this
film reminds you that Training Day was a long long time ago and that Hawke is
clearly at a different point in his career.
As for his cohort Lena Headey, she is at her best in roles that call for
her to play defiant, tough-as-nails women.
Sadly, the opportunity to play Hawke’s wife is not such a role. She is just barely adequate for most of the
film and could have easily been replaced by any number of less accomplished
actresses.
Rounding out the cast are names like Adelaide Kane, Edwin Hodge, Rhys Wakefield, and Tom Yi, but then who really cares. You’ve probably never heard of them and none
of them are particularly good in this film, thus relegating them to the status
of “also rans” in this film. But that is
to be expected in a film with a $3M production budget. You get what you pay for and in this case
they the filmmaker and crew got very little from the bunch.
Considering this film in its entirety, I
would strongly recommend you not see this in the cinema. It starts off decently but completely flames
out by the end of the first act, leaving you with about sixty more minutes to
endure. At best, this is a weeknight
rental during the Halloween season when everything seems 10% scarier than it
really is. Otherwise, it’s probably a
free TV movie or a complete pass. Having now seen Hawke in two
suspense/horror films (Sinister), I think it is safe to say that his work in
this genre is not representative of the kind of performances that he can
deliver. Here’s hoping he starts putting
some check marks in the good column again soon.
Standout Performance: Edwin Hodge.
While his actions are incredibly predictable, Hodge’s character is
easily the most likable in the film.
