By Matthew Bogarin
Watch out The Warriors, I think The Purge: Anarchy wants to come out and play! If you’re heading to the movies for a gory, spine chilling, eye covering horror flick… THIS MOVIE IS NOT FOR YOU! Not that The Purge: Anarchy isn’t a good movie. It was just misplaced into the wrong genre. This film starring FRANK GRILLO is an action/suspense movie that has big guns, intense circumstances, and destruction galore.
The Purge: Anarchy takes place in the not-so-different future of 2023. No flying cars, no DeLorean, no Flux Capacitor. Nada! I mean, come on Universal! You own Back to The Future, let’s do something fun with it, PURGE STYLE! Other than being ran by the New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA) and being able to break any law for 12 hours once a year, everything else is pretty normal. In fact, due to The Annual Purge that’s been going on successfully for several years, life hasn’t been better! Poverty is at its lowest, jobs are always available and our economy has never been stronger. What a country to live in!
Within the first 20 minutes, we’re introduced to our chess pieces. We met Leo (FRANK GRILLO of Captain America: The Winter), a man on a mission that will stop at nothing to successfully accomplish his goal of the night. Eva (CARMEN EJOGO of Away We Go), the single mother that is just trying to make ends meet. Eva’s teenage daughter, Cali (ZOE SOUL of Prisoners), which is our voice of reason and truly believes that The Purge is wrong. And last but not least, Shane (ZACH GILFORD of TV’s Friday Night Lights) and Liz (KIELE SANCHEZ of A Perfect Getaway), a dysfunctional couple that quickly finds out they need each other more than ever. It seems by the hand of destiny, our main characters cross paths and now embark on a journey to stay alive in this god forsaken warzone that is Downtown Los Angeles. Truth be told, with the destruction and madness all over the city, I thought I was watching a documentary on living in L.A.
The story eventually folds into one of the most intense games of cat and mouse I’ve seen on screen. Our unfortunate group being hunted by an endless list of participants in this years annual Purge. A gang that wears creepy and disturbing masks, which is the reason our Oh-so-happy couple is wandering the streets during The Purge. A SWAT like caravan ran by an insane boss, named Big Daddy, travels from spot to spot taking down whole buildings for their on-slaughter. Of course, the people that can “afford” to be on top no matter what circumstances… the Rich.
All jokes aside, this is a solid movie. It helps explain the world of The Purge from beyond a home. I thoroughly enjoyed the heart racing, jaw dropping, suspense of The Purge: Anarchy. Is it as good as the first movie? Hard to say when they hit two different targets. The Purge has the feel of a good ol’ horror movie. A good ol’ horror movie makes your stomach turn from anxiety of every passing minute. A good ol’ horror movie makes you want to hold someone’s hand while watching the obscene visuals on the big screen. It’s what Blumhouse Productions is famous for with movies like Paranormal Activity, Insidious, and Sinister. Blumhouse is able to capture that feeling, but this film does not. It has the feel of an action movie, and I must admit, a damn good action movie. So make sure to go with an open mind. And remember, if this does become our reality. Try not to piss any one off because you never know someone may want to purge you.