The truth about humanity comes to terrify in "The Purge" where true evil can be as close as a neighbor. The frightening part is that there is no supernatural being that is scaring the living daylight out of the Sandin Family, it's just the malicious nature that dwells inside people.
Highly successful home security salesman James Sandin, played by Ethan Hawke, comes home, on the day of the purge, after a hard day of work to be with his family in his safe beautiful mansion, which he bought with the money he made from exploiting the fears of his neighbors.
The Purge is a day where ALL crimes are legal, including murder.
Charlie Sandin, youngest son of James, played by Max Burkholder, not understanding the need for the purge questions his mother, Mary Sandin, played by Lena Headey, and father.
Their oldest daughter, Zoey Sandin, played by Adelaide Kane, is a typical rebellious teen that doesn't care about anything and is caught up in her own world to care about anything around her.
They are a typical family and there seems to be nothing special about any of them.
They barricade themselves inside their mansion as they wait for night of "unleashing the beast" to be over.
Zoey's boyfriend Henry, played by Tony Oller, is determined to confront her father and settle things with him.
Charlie disarms the house allowing for a stranger, played by Edwin Hodge, to enter putting the family in danger.
Chaos breaks loose as the the film progresses showing what a father would do to protect his family, what a man would do to survive and the disgusting nature of self-righteous arrogant youth who are given privileges they do not fully comprehend consequences for.
Hawke is compelling bringing charisma to his stuck up character and compassion for his family. He is the main focus of the story through the film as it seems that it is him against the villains to protect his family.
The conscious and attention grabber of the film is Burkholder. His naive innocence has audiences rooting for him and stuck wanting to see what happens to him. He captures the audience by being different and sticking to his convictions.
The film builds up immense tension that lead to a fantastic action scene that inspires more fear.
The ending comes with a common finale that ha been seen over and over again. There is no gratifying pay off to the film.
I give this film 4 out of 5 stars. The use of human nature as the evil that chases these characters is brilliant and chilling. The acting is good although many of the jumps are due to loud noises that over power the the acting. This is a great movie to watch in theaters and a very frightening experience.
Experience "The Purge" this Friday.
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