The First Purge

It’s very rare to get a good horror sequel let alone an entire franchise but yet again James DeMonaco’s Purge series comes up Trumps – pun very much intended.

The First Purge is the long awaited prequel to the celebrated trilogy; giving audiences a taste of what happened during the first ‘experiment’ proposed by the NFFA. The political set up is an intriguing one and the ramifications obvious and intriguing. It’s a shame that Director Gerard McMurray doesn’t dwell more on the lead up to the directive going through office, instead throwing us into the action on the streets of Staten Island, but once again this film feels scarily prescient.

Horror has always been a genre to reflect our societal ills, what better way to put into metaphor the state of the modern world? From Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers’ Communist scaremongering, to Shaun Of The Dead’s zombified society and Get Out’s comment on deep-rooted racism.

The Purge series has smartly changed it up for each instalment, keeping topically conscious amongst the schlocky violence and The First is the most politically charged yet; unflinching in its portrayal of endemic class and racial tension in America. It delivers its imagery with big neon lights; government-hired mercenaries with Nazi and KKK insignia and dressed as police officers but this is not a time for subtlety.

It feels like a protest film and this is its greatest strength. Sympathetic and star-making breakout performances abound amongst the cast and the classic Purge tropes are there; creepy and iconic masks, jump scares when you least expect them and a portmanteau narrative with disparate groups who come together in the end.

It doesn’t do a huge amount different to its predecessors though and doesn’t make enough of its prequel setting. Again, some of the intriguing masked gangs could be better explored and there’s still an underlying feeling that a TV series (which apparently is coming) could serve the concept better. We’re also more in the action-thriller genre here than true horror with a Captain America-in-The Raid ending which could divide audiences.

It’s another successful and important political comment and ranks comfortably with the rest of this pleasantly surprising series. Long may The Purge continue on our screens and long may people preach its message of warning and anger.

3 stars ***