In less than a year, Writer and Director James Demonaco brings forth the anticipated sequel, The Purge: Anarchy. The movie, starring Frank Grillo and Carmen Ejogo, fast forwards to March 2023 and it is time for the annual purge.
Five strangers, led by local police Sergeant Leo Barnes (Grillo), are stuck in the streets for 12 hours of crime-filled behavior. Even after taking necessary precautions hours before the Purge began, some families were still dragged out of their homes or sacrificed at the hands of wealthy citizens.
My main man, Omar from the Wire, was stirring political controversy as usual. In the Purge 2, Michael K. Williams was the anarchy. As Carmelo, leader of a rebellious group, he was determined to overthrow the New Founding Fathers of America.
Have you ever notice Williams never plays a soft role? He’s always so tough, vigilant and thorough. From guest appearances on Law and Order: SVU to 12 Years A Slave, I enjoy him in everything
The Purge: Anarchy plays out our deepest fears. The fear of innocently dying at the hands of another human being and the fear of non-protection. The Purge relinquishes all rights to be protected and served by local and national governments and creates an environment is senseless murder is justifiable. The life sacrifices during the Purge is clearly a false reality of cleansing sins and becoming whole again.
This movie series taps into an even bigger issue. The Purge, which is labeled as an event to reduce crime, actually eliminates the poor. The real horror is the government making the most disadvantaged citizens dispensable.
How does this fictitious movie reflect our own real-life local, state and national governments? Although we aren’t actively participating in the Purge, maybe we’ve subconsciously succumbed to it already.
Eric Garner, who was stopped for a petty crime in Staten Island on July 17th, was murdered by five NYPD officers after he repeatedly declared he couldn’t breathe. Anna, who was sexually assaulted on her upstate NY college campus last September, regrets even reporting the rape. Chicago has become a war zone with 11 people killed and about 60 wounded in shootings over the Fourth of July weekend.
The Purge is alive and well now if no one is held accountable for their crimes or so many crimes go unsolved.
Horror movies are the biggest bang for your buck in the movie industry. They are inexpensive to make and still attract box office record type of crowds. The first Purge cost $3 million to create but made $89 million in box office revenue. Other scary flicks like Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones had a $5 million budget and surpassed that by grossing $90.8 million in the theaters. The Saw and Insidious movie series we’re by far the most successful mainstream horror movies. Both original releases, Saw (2004) and Insidious (2010) only had $1 million budgets.
4 STARS: While the movie was slightly gruesome, the Purge Anarchy opens your eyes to two most-relevant horrors: political power and societal chaos. What would you do #IfThePurgeWasReal?
Movie Scene Queen 
Great review. I think this movie had a much better grasp of what it was trying to say compared to the last one that was a bit muddled. I’m curious to see where they go with the next sequel.