The First Purge (2018) Review
6:26 AM
Witness the Birth of an American Tradition
Four films in and this franchise continues to tell stories from new and genuinely interesting angles. The Purge was a home invasion movie - the best way to introduce the audience to the concept. Anarchy showed what Purge night is like for those not in their homes. Election Year saw the collapse of the annual 12-hour event. The First Purge is about, well, the first Purge. Up until this point, it can be argued that each installment is necessary and adds to the franchise's universe. However, I cannot think of a direction a fifth film could explore. The First Purge should also be the final Purge.
Following the same formula as the previous three films, The First Purge certainly feels like a Purge movie but does show signs of the creators running out of gas (as the characters did in Anarchy). After around 15 minutes of basic character and plot development, the Purge commences. The characters in this installment might just be the most one-dimensional yet. Dmitri (Noel) is a gang leader, Nya (Scott Davis) is an activist, Isaiah (Wade) is a weaker and more vulnerable member of the gang and Luisa (Velez) and Selina (Kristen Solis) are a mother and daughter who cannot afford to leave the island. The moment when the Purge commences, there is no reason for the audience to like, care or root for these characters (maybe Isaiah to an extent). There are another two central characters involved in the plot - the Chief of Staff (Darragh) and the Architect (Tomei). The writers position them as the antagonists and like everyone else, they are thinly written. Let's not also forget Skeletor (Paul), the Purger the film focuses on the most. The First Purge expects the audience to connect with, care for or fear 8 different characters. In around 90-minutes, this is pretty much impossible. The characters are all generic and forgettable; none of them have the potential to lead this franchise as Frank Grillo's Leo Barnes did for the past two movies.
The First Purge is the franchise's first prequel. That also makes it the film in the franchise set the closest to the present day. By default, this should be the most potent and timely entry. The First Purge fails to make commentary on anything that this franchise has not covered before. It does not have anything new to say. The Purge begins as an experiment. If the writers are going to call the first-ever Purge a social experiment and include the lead researcher as a character, then it would be expected that there may be some psychological analysis. The First Purge never explores the psychological reasons people Purge and instead comments on the use of masks and the choice to not purge. There was an opportunity to take this franchise to a whole new level and DeMonaco did not capitalize on it. The researchers did believe that the lower class would be angrier and therefore act the most rebellious and violent on Purge night. In a should-have-expected twist, external (white)mercenaries are hired because Staten Island residents are more concerned with staying safe than killing others. This was in-line with the other Purge films as it is the white elitists who partake in Purge night the most.
Although this might not be the smartest film, it does feel very real; more realistic than any of its predecessors. The masks are less eccentric and the torturing and killing are not too over the top. Election Year had people beheading others in the streets while The First Purge's purgers rely more on guns and homemade traps. In some ways, this made The First Purge a tamer entry and possibly the least thrilling. However, that doesn't mean that there aren't some gruesome, shocking and disturbing moments. From a "pussy-grabbing" trap to reenacting police brutality, this film has some brief yet brutal and sadistic moments. There are few jump-scares, but they are all effective. The audience is tricked into listening to a serious conversation between characters which is interrupted by something frightening. Each jump-scare follows this structure but are all still unexpected. Skeletor is this film's most deadly purger; he comes across as crazy and Rotimi Paul delivers the insanity ably. It made sense that the NFFA would exploit psychologically unwell people for the experiment.
Since the second film, The Purge movies have become the most diverse active horror franchise. The First Purge is probably the most diverse so far. The cast includes many African-American actors, a couple of Latin American actors and two Caucasian actors. This diversity gives McMurray and DeMonaco the chance to explore how different cultures experience the Purge. Unfortunately, all of the non-white characters are lower class and are based in Staten Island while the white characters are in positions of power. This is clearly social commentary though as the white characters are not exactly in a positive position of power. African-American culture is depicted in quite a stereotypical way - the characters are involved in gangs and are religious. Gerard McMurray is a member of this community though so this representation is not as problematic. Ultimately, the African-American and Latin-American characters become quite heroic.
Something that lets down even the best Purge films is the acting. This cast is comprised of relatively unknown actors with little Hollywood experience. Nobody in the cast of The First Purge is awful but nobody makes much of an impression. The script does not do the cast any favours as it is full of cheesy lines that an award-winner would find hard to deliver. Marisa Tomei is this film's biggest star and I was surprised to find her in such a small role. Her character could have been so much better, but that is the script's fault and not Tomei's performance. Despite being on the side of the antagonists, Tomei's Dr. Updale does not have the same agenda as the NFFA, she is much more likable. This makes it even more unfortunate when the character is suddenly ditched from the plot halfway through. I don't understand why Tomei would agree to such a nonstarter role. Mugga is a decent comic relief. The likes of Y'Ian Noel, Lex Scott Davis, and Joivan Wade didn't have much of a following going into this film and I doubt they will gain many fans after its release. If The Purge 5 is released (I don't think it would be a good idea), there is potential with Kristen Solis's Selina. Instead of having Solis return, I would flashforward a few years and see how she survives the Purge each year. This would open the door for even more Latino representation.
The First Purge is the weakest entry in the franchise since the first film (which still remains my least favourite...I think). This entry probably has the weakest cast in terms of star-power, but they have less wobbly moments than actors in the predecessors. The First Purge felt like the obvious next step for the franchise and I'm satisfied that we now know how it all started. The end result was slightly disappointing though. It's not as scary, not as thrilling and not as compelling, but The First Purge provides enough of what audiences have come to expect from this franchise. The weaker final product suggests that DeMonaco is starting to fall out of love with the series; this would be an acceptable finale. The First Purge goes back to basics and is possibly the most basic and rudimentary entry in the franchise yet. The series has run out of things to say.
Although this might not be the smartest film, it does feel very real; more realistic than any of its predecessors. The masks are less eccentric and the torturing and killing are not too over the top. Election Year had people beheading others in the streets while The First Purge's purgers rely more on guns and homemade traps. In some ways, this made The First Purge a tamer entry and possibly the least thrilling. However, that doesn't mean that there aren't some gruesome, shocking and disturbing moments. From a "pussy-grabbing" trap to reenacting police brutality, this film has some brief yet brutal and sadistic moments. There are few jump-scares, but they are all effective. The audience is tricked into listening to a serious conversation between characters which is interrupted by something frightening. Each jump-scare follows this structure but are all still unexpected. Skeletor is this film's most deadly purger; he comes across as crazy and Rotimi Paul delivers the insanity ably. It made sense that the NFFA would exploit psychologically unwell people for the experiment.
Since the second film, The Purge movies have become the most diverse active horror franchise. The First Purge is probably the most diverse so far. The cast includes many African-American actors, a couple of Latin American actors and two Caucasian actors. This diversity gives McMurray and DeMonaco the chance to explore how different cultures experience the Purge. Unfortunately, all of the non-white characters are lower class and are based in Staten Island while the white characters are in positions of power. This is clearly social commentary though as the white characters are not exactly in a positive position of power. African-American culture is depicted in quite a stereotypical way - the characters are involved in gangs and are religious. Gerard McMurray is a member of this community though so this representation is not as problematic. Ultimately, the African-American and Latin-American characters become quite heroic.
Something that lets down even the best Purge films is the acting. This cast is comprised of relatively unknown actors with little Hollywood experience. Nobody in the cast of The First Purge is awful but nobody makes much of an impression. The script does not do the cast any favours as it is full of cheesy lines that an award-winner would find hard to deliver. Marisa Tomei is this film's biggest star and I was surprised to find her in such a small role. Her character could have been so much better, but that is the script's fault and not Tomei's performance. Despite being on the side of the antagonists, Tomei's Dr. Updale does not have the same agenda as the NFFA, she is much more likable. This makes it even more unfortunate when the character is suddenly ditched from the plot halfway through. I don't understand why Tomei would agree to such a nonstarter role. Mugga is a decent comic relief. The likes of Y'Ian Noel, Lex Scott Davis, and Joivan Wade didn't have much of a following going into this film and I doubt they will gain many fans after its release. If The Purge 5 is released (I don't think it would be a good idea), there is potential with Kristen Solis's Selina. Instead of having Solis return, I would flashforward a few years and see how she survives the Purge each year. This would open the door for even more Latino representation.
The First Purge is the weakest entry in the franchise since the first film (which still remains my least favourite...I think). This entry probably has the weakest cast in terms of star-power, but they have less wobbly moments than actors in the predecessors. The First Purge felt like the obvious next step for the franchise and I'm satisfied that we now know how it all started. The end result was slightly disappointing though. It's not as scary, not as thrilling and not as compelling, but The First Purge provides enough of what audiences have come to expect from this franchise. The weaker final product suggests that DeMonaco is starting to fall out of love with the series; this would be an acceptable finale. The First Purge goes back to basics and is possibly the most basic and rudimentary entry in the franchise yet. The series has run out of things to say.
51
/100
What did you think of THE FIRST PURGE? What is your favourite Purge movie? - COMMENT BELOW
2 comments
I'm not a big horror fan, but I always appreciate when a great horror flick comes along. When The Purge was released back in 2013, I was very underwhelmed by it, as the premise itself intrigued me enough to warrant a viewing. The biggest issue I had with that film is that it was a country-wide event that was self-contained in one house. When the second film came along I was inclined to give it a chance because it did what I hoped the first film was going to. > The First Purge 2018
ReplyDeleteNow, this franchise has gone n for far too long and we have arrived at a prequel in The First Purge. The idea of going back to the very first purge has potential, but this film lives up to nothing of the sort. Anything good to speak of this franchise has now been killed in my eyes. This is easily the worst film in the franchise and one of the worst films I've seen in 2018, period.
See More:
> the revenant putlocker
> arrival putlockers
> 2k movies
It sounds like such a missed opportunity, the set-up of taking it back to the original purge has so much potential, especially since the franchise has had some great original characters and storylines. Still, I want to watch it!
ReplyDelete