Everything’s legal in this world.
By Jesse Schedeen
The Purge movie series has rapidly grown into one of the most popular and profitable horror franchises in Hollywood, with the fourth film, The First Purge, about to hit theaters. These movies prove you don’t need intricate special effects or supernatural monsters to make a good horror movie, just a few colorfully dressed people doing their best to murder one another.
But where does The First Purge fit into the increasingly complex mythology of The Purge movies? Here’s everything you need to know about the story driving The Purge franchise, the continuity of these movies and what’s coming down the road for the battle-hardened heroes of The Purge universe in both film and on TV.
The Purge Universe Explained: The Basics
The Purge takes place in a near-future world where an organization called the New Founding Fathers of America have taken control of the United States. In response to rising crime rates, unemployment and social unrest, the New Founding Fathers created an annual holiday called The Purge. For one night every year, American citizens are given 12 hours of complete freedom to commit whatever crimes they please. Short of unleashing weapons of mass destruction or targeting top-level government officials, pretty much any crime is legal during those 12 hours. The idea is that The Purge allows them to release their pent-up aggression and become better, harder-working citizens the other 364 days of the year.
On the surface, The Purge seems to have done its job. The economy has recovered and crime is way down. But many believe The Purge is nothing more than a form of violent population control, with the poor and homeless suffering the brunt of the carnage every year. Where many Americans have embraced The Purge, others will stop at nothing to bring this bloody holiday to an end and overthrow the New Founding Fathers.
The Purge Universe Movies
There are currently four films in The Purge franchise, including the original trilogy, plus a TV series that’s in the works.
The Purge (2013) – The original Purge unfolds in the near future landscape of 2022. At this point, The Purge has been an annual event for several years, and some enterprising individuals like security salesman James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) have found ways of profiting from the event. The film follows Sandin and his family as they discover their lavish home isn’t quite as Purge-proof as they thought. This film also introduces the one character who’s appeared in each of the first three films, Dante Bishop (Edwin Hodge).
The Purge: Anarchy (2014) – This sequel takes place in 2023 during the seventh annual Purge. Anarchy introduces an LAPD officer named Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo), who plans on using The Purge as an opportunity to murder the drunk driver who killed his son. Instead, he finds himself protecting a mother and daughter trapped in the chaos of the night. This movie also fleshes out the background of Dante Bishop, revealing him to be a member of a growing resistance movement opposing the New Founding Fathers.
The Purge: Election Year (2016) – The second sequel jumps ahead almost two decades to the year 2040. This film introduces Senator Charlie Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell), a presidential candidate campaigning on a pledge to end The Purge. Faced with a significant political threat, the New Founding Fathers modify The Purge rules to remove all protections for high-level government officials. Roan is forced to rely on the help of Barnes (now retired from the LAPD and working as her head of security) and Bishop’s resistance cell to survive another Purge. If she can survive and win the presidential election, Roan can offer new hope for this darker United States.
The First Purge (2018) – The latest film is a prequel offering a look at how The Purge began. Read on for more about that film.
The Purge Universe: Origin and Background
The Purge movies are one of several major success stories from Blumhouse Productions, the production company responsible for other horror franchises like Paranormal Activity and Insidious. Blumhouse’s approach is to offer directors modest budgets paired with high creative freedom, resulting in horror and indie films that tend to resonate strongly with audiences. For instance, the first Purge had a budget of roughly $3 million and grossed over $64 million domestically.
All three Purge movies were written and directed by James DeMonaco, who previously wrote films like 1996’s Jack and 2005’s Assault on Precinct 13. DeMonaco once revealed the origins of the original movie to Fandango, saying, “My wife and I were in a road-rage incident in Brooklyn where we were cut off by this drunk guy who almost killed us. The cops showed up; it was crazy. She said in anger—and this is a doctor who helps people—’I wish we could all have one free [murder] one a year.’ I was like, ‘Whoa, honey!’ It stayed with me.”
That incident, along with other political events like the fallout of Hurricane Katrina, wound up inspiring an entire franchise about ordinary Americans being given carte blanche to kill and wreak havoc for one night a year. While reviews for the first movie were mixed (it currently stands at 38% on Rotten Tomatoes), critics and audiences noted its emphasis on social and political satire.
The series has only upped the satire factor with time. The sequels have expanded in scope and focused more on fleshing out the world of The Purge and the conflict between those who embrace the holiday and those who wish to see it end. In particular, The Purge: Election Year flaunted its similarities to the 2016 presidential election, including featuring a main character seemingly inspired by Hillary Clinton. The First Purge has continued that trend with marketing that lampooned Donald Trump’s “Make American Great Again” campaign.
That emphasis on satire seems to have helped the franchise maintain its appeal with moviegoers. Both sequels fared significantly better with critics, and The Purge: Election Year clocked in at a series best gross of $79 million.
The Purge Universe: What’s Next
While the first three Purge movies form a complete trilogy, there are two separate projects currently happening.
The First Purge (2018) – The fourth film in the series serves as a prequel to the others, exploring the societal breakdown that led to the US accepting the idea of the annual Purge. The film stars Y’Lan Noel, Lex Scott Davis, Joivan Wade, Luna Lauren Velez and Marisa Tomei. DeMonaco again wrote this screenplay, but The First Purge is instead directed by Fruitvale Station producer Gerard McMurray. The film will be released on July 4, 2018.
The Purge TV series (TBD) – The franchise will also be making the jump to television soon. Where the movies all take place during a single night while The Purge unfolds, the series will take a wider look at how the existence of The Purge influences life in America throughout the year. The series will star Jessica Garza as a woman who joins a Purge-worshiping religious cult and Gabriel Chavarria as her brother, a Marine who returns home to protect his family. The series will air on both USA and Syfy, though a premiere date has yet to be revealed.
Jesse is a mild-mannered writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.
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