The Purge - Review

In the not so distant future, the reborn United States holds an annual purge to allow its citizens 12 hours of crime for one night out of the year. A wealthy family of supporters gets more than they bargained for after locking down for the night in The Purge.


I know I am late to the party when it comes to The Purge, but I wanted to see it so I decided to still watch it before the year is up. I didn't have anything invested in this originally which is mainly why I didn't see it in theaters. I had seen and heard a lot of mixed reviews about it so I wasn't in a hurry. After watching it I wouldn't say I am all that disappointed, but I am glad I didn't rush to see it because I probably would have been more disappointed.

Starting off with the plot, I think this movie has a great concept. The whole 12-hour crime free night is a very interesting concept and I thought it fit the genre well. However, I don't think that it worked as well as it could have. The fact that the entire focus was on this one family located in an extremely wealthy area hindered the plot a bit for me. Instead of showing the true chaos and so-called benefits of the purge, they focused on a family holed up in a mansion with an expensive security system. It kind of defeated the purpose.
As far as acting goes, it was pretty standard for a movie like this. The kids were annoying, the wife was stupid, and the "intruders" weren't really seen all that much. The best part, as expected, was Ethan Hawke. While on the subject of the intruders, the way they were portrayed made it seem like people participating in the purge were all crazy or had this self-righteous sense of entitlement to rid themselves of the country's undesirables. The previews made it look like the purge was a chance to give people a night to go after people they've wanted to all year or to get revenge. Not to walk around like it's a game and kill homeless people.

In other words, there was a lot wrong with this movie.

1. The son

The fact that the parents didn't beat their son's ass for disarming the security system bothered me the entire movie. They didn't even acknowledge the fact that all of the events happening was their son's fault. Instead they decide to split up and leave the boy alone in the room with the security controls. If he disarmed it once to let someone in, what makes them think he wouldn't do it again?! I would have beat his ass right then and there. I guess punishing your kids still isn't a trend in 2022.
Oh, and the creepy baby doll surveillance robot. What the hell...

2. The daughter

No character development, insignificant to the plot, and annoying. I feel like you don't disappear to some random area of the house after you get intruders during a crime free 12-hour period.

3. The lack of exploration of the future

I'll admit, I was curious to see exactly what 2022 looked like. The only thing we saw was a rich neighborhood and the inside of the family's house. There was no mention of exactly how bad America got before the new founding fathers came in, there was no mention of who the founding fathers were, what type of government America had, how we could maintain an economy of 1% unemployment, etc.. They just threw you into the movie and made you roll with it with no explanation.

4. No character development of the stranger

Seriously. All this guy was in this movie was a random victim who was allowed into the house and then came in handy at the very end. No name, no background, nothing.

5. The neighbors

I will admit that the neighbors kind of made the movie for me, but it seemed like more of a PSA for the delusion of wealth more than anything else. Even though the people were rich and lived in a neighborhood hardly touched by the purge, they felt the need to still try and eliminate the "get rich quick" citizens. They were a bit cult-like and self-entitled for my tastes.


Overall, I came to the conclusion of not understanding why The Purge got to popular and seriously not understanding why it's getting a sequel. I think people are banking on it just on the concept alone despite the fact that the movie had no real substance and shitty characters. I've seen it and once was enough. I won't be seeing the sequel.

Sinister - Review

Sinister tells the story of a true crime novelist who is trying to revive his career by moving into a house where a horrific crime took place. In his pursuit of the truth, for the sake of his book, he uncovers secrets and legends that not only uncover why the crime took place but also puts his family in danger.


I had intended to see Sinister when it was in theaters, but I never really got around to it. When I heard it was going to be on DVD I immediately added it to my rental queue and I am happy to say this was not a wasted rental. I really enjoyed Sinister. I thought the plot was great, the imagery and cinematography was beautiful and haunting, and the acting really wasn't too shabby. There were things I didn't quite get but overall I was happy.

Starting off with what I did like is the plot. Without giving too much away I thought it was well executed. Portraying Ethan Hawke to be this novelist who is dragging his family from place to place trying to recreate previous success he had was a good setup. He lies to his family and doesn't tell them they are moving into a house where a family was murdered and the secrecy adds to his stress and nervousness when he begins to discover evidence and information about the crime scene. I loved it.
I also loved the imagery. I thought the home movies, or found-footage, that were in the attic were very creepy looking but it was one of those can't look away scenarios. Each one started with normal, family footage and ended with something terrible which was great. The movies were old fashioned, grainy, and had a very eerie vibe to them. Kudos to the cinematography, for sure.

Some stuff I didn't like mostly lies with the sound and what I thought was an overuse of music. This mostly has to do with the home movies. Each movie had a different tune to them and while they were creepy little tunes I felt they were a bit unnecessary. I think the movies would have been more effective and creepier if they were played in silence only with the noise of the film projector and the outside noise of the house. That is how I would have done it.
It also fell victim to my main gripe with current horror films which is the overuse of jump scares and loud, sudden sound cues. I hate this with a passion and it's not because I fall for them. I never fall for them but I find them annoying and the only reason people are getting scared is because they get the adrenaline rush when they are startled. They aren't scared by the actual material and that is where horror is failing right now. People need to start relying on the material and not on sound and visual tricks. I thought the movie itself was creepy enough to stick with the audience, but apparently they didn't.
It also was hard for me to take Beguul (aka, Mr. Boogie) seriously due to the fact that he looks like a member of Slipknot, but that isn't anything major.

Apart from that I do want to reiterate that I did like Sinister despite the faults. Oddly enough I think the faults showed that they were insecure of the film and didn't think it was scary enough on its own. It also adds elements of two different genres that meshed quite well. At times I couldn't decide whether I was watching a crime thriller or a horror movie. That added to the overall suspense, though. Not a bad movie. Probably one of the better horror movies I have seen in recent years.