Editorials
[Editorial] In ‘Purge’ We Trust
Last year’s release of The Purge shocked audiences worldwide in many ways: not only did the relatively low-budget dystopian thriller score impressively at the box office, but its concept of a chillingly realistic future society sparked a wildfire of post-movie conversations, online fan theories and haunting speculations about the possibility of a real-life “Purge Night.” Needless to say, fans hungered for a follow-up, and this summer the grander, more ambitious sequel Purge: Anarchy premiered to even more impressive numbers (taking in $110 million worldwide), expanded the Purge mythos first established by writer-director James DeMonaco to vast proportions, and delivered on the ominous promises of the original.
The basic premise, for those who have yet to experience it, involves a seemingly idyllic USA of the not-too-distant future (the first film is set in 2022), where crime has been nearly eradicated… except, that is, for one selected night of the year during which citizens can carry out virtually any crime – including murder – with absolutely no legal repercussions. The “New Founding Fathers” proclaim that “Purge Night,” a twelve-hour window from 7pm on March 21st to 7am March 22nd, allows every American a chance to unleash their animal instincts any way they like, with the rationale that they would then be more passive and law-abiding during the other 364 days of the year. The even darker side to this policy is revealed in the stipulation that high-level government officials are the only citizens who cannot be targeted during Purge Night; all others are fair game… or are they?
Even now, fans continue to debate the film’s troubling concept of government-sanctioned anarchy and self-imposed class cleansing, with many people speculating as to whether the Purge would actually work in real life… but the epic sequel poses even more ominous questions.
Own The Purge: Anarchy now on Blu-Ray
[Here be spoilers!]
While the budgetary limitations of The Purge kept the focus on the upper-middle-class Sandin family, Anarchy has fewer monetary restrictions (though the budget is still low by studio standards), and turns its unblinking eye on the vast legions of poor people who are most vulnerable to the purgers’ roving militias. By the following year (2023), a growing movement of armed anti-purge rebels seeks to expose the genocidal truth behind the New Founding Fathers’ plan, and they cross paths with a secret society of corrupt rich people who round up the poor to auction off as human targets.
Into this bloody conflict comes tormented cop Leo (Frank Grillo), who is using Purge Night to seek revenge on the drunk driver who killed his son. Though he ultimately finds himself unable to carry out his revenge, Leo’s new path as a member of the resistance is temporarily cut short after a bloody confrontation with a government death squad, and he learns the horrible secret behind the Purge: its main purpose is not to give citizens an outlet for their animal urges, but to exterminate the poor – and the Founders are working on new, more deadly efficient ways to implement their plan.
Following the recent announcement that a third Purge film has now been greenlit (with DeMonaco returning as writer and director), the buzz is already escalating to new levels, and the web has caught fire with theory and speculation about the plot of the next installment. In a recent interview, Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions told us that Purge 3 may in fact be a prequel, and might focus on the foundation and execution of the first Purge. It’s also expected that Leo will return, having barely survived the final battle with Big Daddy (he’s being taken to the hospital at the end of Anarchy), which would suggest a more direct sequel. Personally, I’d be most interested in learning about the circumstances that enabled the New Founding Fathers to seize power, amend the Constitution and implement the Purge, with a parallel plot focusing on the origins of the resistance. Anarchy opened up the landscape in so many ways, revealing more of the social chaos only hinted at in the original.
It’s not a failing of the first film that we only get glimpses of the national impact of the Purge; it’s a pretty sensible move for a film with a limited budget. Legendary directors like John Carpenter and Quentin Tarantino took a similar approach to their earliest features (Assault on Precinct 13 and Reservoir Dogs, respectively), which are set almost entirely in one location, driven by dialogue and character interaction more than action sequences or special effects. While it’s obviously a practical consideration, this tactic also tightens the focus on a small group of besieged characters, and gives the film an oppressive atmosphere of claustrophobia. The Purge accomplishes a similar goal, as the steel gates covering the Sandins’ doors and windows turn their home from a high-tech fortress into a prison. In the second film, once we’ve seen the impact of Purge Night upon its most vulnerable victims – the poor and homeless – we not only witness the horrifying scope of coast-to-coast anarchy, but discover the diabolical workings behind it.
Perhaps the most terrifying aspect of the Purge films is their basis in history, with murderous purges occurring in both ancient and modern times – and the prospect that history may indeed repeat itself. Back in August, a rumor spread like a virus across social media that a real-life “purge” was about take place in Detroit, Houston, Louisville, New Orleans, and several other cities. It thankfully turned out to be a hoax, but apart from a quick check on Snopes (something I do quite a lot these days), there wasn’t much information out there to dispute the possibility that it might happen… and the current climate of social unrest didn’t exactly put my mind at ease. I won’t dig into the politics of the issue, but I will say that the friction between the haves and have-nots seems to be increasing, and the fears that grow from that realization are the main reason Purge: Anarchy chilled me to the bone.
As more and more dystopian epics (e.g. The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner) are sharing high-profile attention with the franchise, Blum has revealed there could feasibly be a new Purge sequel every year. It’s an interesting prospect, but with the right scripts and more complex world-building, I think there are quite a few more stories to be told. What do you think the future holds for the Purge series, and what would you most like to see happen in the next film… and beyond? Share your views with us in the comments!
It’s been 75 years since The Thing From Another World first warned us to “watch the skies”, and filmgoers have done just that by showing up to multiple instances of extraterrestrial contact on the big screen. This makes sense, as a recent CBS news poll estimated that 63% of Americans believe in intelligent life on other planets, and the ongoing disclosure movement aims to raise that number with each passing day.
With Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day leaving many genre fans hungry for more alien footage (preferably of the spooky variety), today I’d like to share a list recommending six underrated alien invasion thrillers for your viewing pleasure. After all, regardless of whether or not you believe that we’re alone in the universe, it can be fun to dream about the worst-case scenario if our cosmic neighbors ever decide to visit.
For the purposes of this list, we’ll be focusing on lesser-known invasion stories rather than the popular extraterrestrials of franchises like Alien and Close Encounters of the Third (or even Fourth) Kind. That being said, don’t forget to comment below with your own alien favorites if you think we missed a particularly thrilling movie.
While it won’t be featured in this article, I’d highly recommend checking out Dean Alioto’s UFO Abduction/The McPherson Tape if you’re up for some ufology-inspired found footage thrills.
With that out of the way, onto the list!
6. The Arrival (1996)
Not to be confused with Denis Villeneuve’s Academy Award-winning Amy Adams vehicle about learning to communicate peacefully with extraterrestrial life, David Twohy’s The Arrival is a much more straightforward (but no less entertaining) genre romp where Charlie Sheen faces a global conspiracy involving hostile alien invaders.
It’s not exactly up there with Close Encounters or even Independence Day, but Twohy’s conspiratorial thriller plays out like an exceptionally fun episode of The X-Files that I’d recommend to sci-fi/horror fans who don’t mind a little bit of wonky CGI and 90s excess alongside their alien thrills.
5. Extraterrestrial (2014)
The Vicious Brothers made a name for themselves with the success of 2011’s Grave Encounters, but that was far from the Canadian duo’s only collaboration. And while it’s not exactly a fan favorite, I always point out 2014’s Extraterrestrial as one of their most underrated projects simply because I agree with the filmmakers’ opinion that there aren’t enough ‘cool alien abduction movies’ out there.
Admittedly, the majority of the picture functions like a run-of-the-mill creature feature with paper-thin characters and familiar horror tropes, but I’d argue that the cosmically-terrifying final act elevates the experience to new and memorable heights. The movie also boasts great performances by both Michael Ironside and Emily Perkins – a combination that more than makes up for the occasionally janky CGI.
4. Alien Raiders (2008)
Director Ben Rock has gone on record lamenting how his John-Carpenter-inspired creature feature was forcefully renamed from Supermarket to the painfully obvious Alien Raiders (a change which likely resulted in many potential viewers skipping out on the experience), but the new title doesn’t change the fact that this single-location thriller is something of a hidden gem.
Taking place entirely within a supermarket, Alien Raiders tells the story of an ensemble of customers and employees who are taken hostage by a group of armed men looking for something far more dangerous than an easy payout. I won’t get into details in order to avoid spoiling the experience, but I’d highly recommend this criminally underseen flick to fans of John Carpenter and the Resident Evil games.
3. Phoenix Forgotten (2017)
You’d think that a Ridley-Scott-produced retelling of one of the most infamous real-life UFO sightings of all time would have a bigger following, but I rarely see Justin Barber’s Found Footage period piece brought up during discussions about extraterrestrial-focused horror movies.
This is a huge shame, as Phoenix Forgotten is just as spooky as it is convincing, with this well-researched dive into the Phoenix Lights incident benefiting from surprisingly believable special effects as well as an appropriately horrific finale.
2. Communion (1989)
I wouldn’t blame you for disregarding Whitley Strieber’s controversial book about his alleged close encounter as sensationalist slop, but I’d argue that Phillipe Mora’s 1989 adaptation of these events is much better than the source material. After all, the movie works as a standalone piece of speculative fiction while also benefiting from an incredible performance by the one and only Christopher Walken!
Mora’s take on Communion may not be particularly scary, but the film is still an unforgettable character study regardless of whether or not the abduction really happened. Not only that, but the flick also paved the way for plenty of future sci-fi stories where the extraterrestrial invaders aren’t as evil as they initially appear.
1. Altered (2006)
Originally envisioned as a Sam Raimi-style horror-comedy titled Probed, Eduardo Sánchez (of The Blair Witch Project fame) eventually realized that it would be much more interesting to turn the film into a serious exploration of the emotional aftermath of a traumatic abduction incident.
That’s how we got Altered, a clever inversion of the standard abduction narrative that follows a group of troubled friends as they capture and experiment on an alien in order to enact revenge for their own abduction years prior.
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