THE PURGE (2013)

Countless dystopian/anarchic movies have been done, how do you make one that stands out above the rest? Set it in modern times and put a spin that anarchy only happens for a short while. Enter the basic premise of THE PURGE. In the future, crime and unemployment is down to virtually zero, and much of this is owed to the annual 'purge'.....a 24 hour event where all crime is legal and no emergency services are available. For as great a premise as this is though...we get a small-scale self contained flick dealing with a home invasion as the main plot. While there have been several sequels since that have greatly elaborated on the possibilities of what could happen and shown on a grander scale, this one is much more simple...perhaps baiting the audience in wanting to check out the flicks that followed. Ethan Hawke and fam have to fend for themselves when their home security is disabled just long enough (in the form of strangers showing up) to allow some cracks and of course chaos happens when a masked and armed gang show up. Not a bad home invasion movie, just don't expect a grand scale to show off the several angles of what a purge can do...that's saved for the sequels.

SLASH SCENE: The gang first appearing

SLASH SCORE: 3.5/5