So if you’ve been in the horror community online, you would know that a new Purge movie was reported to be in the works earlier this month. While I don’t consider it one of the best horror movies ever, I think that the first Purge movie was alright in its execution, and you could have done a lot with it. I am a fan of the franchise, but I also think I’m finally starting to feel the fatigue.
While we aren’t anywhere close to The Purge 6 (which was revealed by Bloody Disgusting) being released on the 2025 movie schedule, it’s something I’m thinking about for next year. I can’t help but know that I’m going to be disappointed. Why? Well, let’s get into it.
The First Purge Movie Was Hands Down The Best One
those Friday the 13th movies.
other Purge movies, which we’ll discuss in a bit, this one often didn’t feel nearly as believable. The first entry, however, felt like how it might happen in real life if a purge were to exist, which made it even scarier and more unnerving.
Could it have been better? Of course. There was so much room for growth, and I think some of the twists and turns could have been better perfected – maybe the violence could have been upped just a tab. But it’s at least watchable and a fun movie to revisit on a Saturday night with your friends.
Ethan Hawke’s best films (like some other staff members do), but I do believe that his acting, as well as the people around him, were great in that film. They really pulled out all the stops and made a genuinely great horror movie. However, in subsequent Purge movies, it just felt like the acting grew increasingly campy as the gore intensified.
Then there’s the fact that the same person, James DeMonaco, directed the first three films. Then the next two were directed by two entirely different individuals – Gerard McMurray and Everardo Gout. While this doesn’t always happen, I have noticed that in some horror franchises (like the Resident Evil movies) that the overall distribution of the story tends to get muddled when directors change, even if the screenwriter stays the same (as it did for the Purge films). There’s just so much stuff that’s not connecting.
Ultimately, I believe the primary issue is the narrative. The story for these films doesn’t land that well.
The first film, again, had a lot going for it. The idea was relatively original in the world of horror, and it’s something that we hadn’t really seen before. Its execution could have been better, but I enjoyed it overall. However, as the franchise has continued, and more lore has been woven into the story’s fabric, things have become more complex and more challenging to understand.
There’s also the underlying politics of it all, and I think that should have played a much larger role in the first film than The Purge: Election Year. But because it doesn’t really take a primary seat until later in the franchise, it almost feels forced, and that’s not fun.
The Purge movies haven’t gone up in quality. If anything, they’ve gone down, and I don’t exactly know where else they can go with this.
Ari Aster’s Midsommar and Hereditary speak deep meanings while also scaring the heck out of you. Movies like Bring Her Back can be traumatizing for their audiences, yet also evoke tears.
People are looking for more substance in their horror, and just having someone have a free pass to murder whoever they want because the government said so isn’t cutting it anymore.
Pete Davidson possibly joining the franchise will make me excited.