The R-Rated Netflix Sci-Fi Thriller Is A Violent Nightmare
What if one of the wildest horror films ever made had a sequel that responded to fans’ biggest questions? In the original The Purge, audiences were treated to a film in which all crime is made legal for exactly one night. Even as the movie became a pop culture sensation, however, skeptical audiences were wondering how all the politicians of this fictional universe could stand by and sanction wholesale slaughter every year.
Now, Netflix is streaming The Purge: Election Year, and that movie showcases how an attempted political pushback against the titular Purge ultimately made everything that much worse.
Senator Charlie Roan’s Attempts To End The Purge Fail
The plot of The Purge: Election Year starts off simply enough. When future Senator Charlie Roan is a young child, she is forced to watch as her family is brutally killed during a Purge night. Now, 18 years later, she is a presidential candidate whose platform includes getting rid of the bloody ritual altogether.
That goes over about as well with her rival candidates as well as the American people, and she soon finds herself trapped in Washington, D.C. as the Purge begins and seemingly everyone around her is coming to take Roan’s life.
The Cast
Part of why we love The Purge: Election Year is that it has a solid cast to help anchor its bloodthirsty shenanigans. Elizabeth Mitchell does a fantastic job as Senator Roan, and former Marvel actor and Purge veteran Frank Grillo is once again amazing in the role of a former LAPD sergeant now charged with protecting Roan. Even the supporting cast is great: for example, fans of Star Trek: Voyager will delight in seeing Neelix actor Ethan Phillips in a small role.
Jason Blum’s Personal Touch
In some ways, the production team of The Purge: Election Year should serve as a warning for just how bonkers this violent film really gets. One of the producers is Jason Blum, and this movie has much of the bizarre energy that Blum helped to imbue into horror films such as Paranormal Activity and M3GAN. But one of the other producers is Michael Bay, and you can detect much of his gonzo blockbuster style in the sheer operatic chaos of this movie.
The Box Office Hit Didn’t Sit Well With Critics
So chaotic, perhaps, that nobody knew quite what to make of it: on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie currently has a 55 percent critical rating, with critics complaining that the movie isn’t very subtle in its satire of violent American culture.
However, we’d argue that few people tune into horror films for subtlety, and the fact that this movie earned $118.6 million against a budget of only $10 million proves that audiences will definitely show up for a memorable horror film. “Memorable” is definitely the keyword here, as The Purge: Election Year is filled with gruesome sights you simply won’t find anywhere else.
Stream The Film On Netflix
If nothing else, now is the perfect time for Netflix subscribers to stream this film; what better time to watch The Purge: Election Year than during an actual election year? By the end of the year, the bloody and brutal action of this film may look downright civilized compared to the nonstop deluge of political news we will have been subjected to. And like Senator Charlie Roan, we’ll just be here waiting for someone (anyone) to make the madness stop.
