Every entry so far in the action-horror Purge film franchise winds down with the signaled end of The Purge, the annual 12-hour event that temporarily legalizes all crime. The sirens blare, announcing that crime returned to its normal illegal state, and survivors pick up the pieces as the country resumes its law-abiding ways. The Forever Purge breaks the mold, presenting a harrowing survival scenario when people decide the annual Purge should never end.
The latest sequel opens to couple Adela (Ana de la Reguera) and Juan (Tenoch Huerta) paying coyotes to guide them underground, beneath the walled border, into the U.S. for a better life. Cut to ten months later, and both found success in new careers. Adela thrives in a kitchen, and Juan impresses as a ranch hand for the wealthy Tucker family. Or rather, he impresses patriarch Caleb (Will Patton) but butts heads with Caleb’s brash son Dylan (Josh Lucas). The Forever Purge paints its usual stark portrait of the haves and have nots come Purge night, but things go from bad to worse when people don’t stop killing once the night ends. Unlikely allies get forged in the fire of a country razing itself to the ground to reshape it how they see fit.
Series creator and writer James DeMonaco never shied away from using his action-horror series to illustrate the class divide, especially as a contributing factor to how the various characters participate, or don’t, in the 12-hour free-for-all. That certainly still applies but also evolves unexpectedly. DeMonaco always seemed to have his pulse on the current social climate. Still, it’s uncanny here, considering The Forever Purge was filmed in 2019, and the release initially was set for last summer. Now, seeing mounting tensions erupt into full-blown violence over clashing politics and beliefs feels a bit too on the nose. White supremacists gleefully pillaging, murdering, and ruthlessly thwarting all attempts for control bring a much more solemn and nihilistic survival actioner than before.
Director Everardo Gout handles the non-stop barrage of action set pieces competently, keeping things moving at a brisk pace. The explosions and gunfire are aplenty, and The Forever Purge gets even more dystopian as it slowly transforms into a dangerous road movie. That means this sequel has a much larger scope as its core characters attempt to flee an overrun Texas. Gout grounds the bombast in sobering reality.
The Forever Purge offers no reprieve or semblance of fantasy. Not really. It doesn’t help that its players feel more like social commentary metaphors rather than fully realized characters. Backstories get hinted at rather than explored, and many supporting players fade into the ether, forgotten. Huerta and de la Reguera make for formidable action leads, but their characters’ romance can feel forced when injected at inopportune moments, meant to remind viewers of rooting interest. Instead of standout villains, it’s an endless sea of white supremacists, irrationally entitled, and beyond. Most of them faceless; they could be anyone. That’s the point, of course, but it’s delivered with blunt force.
Now, a year after its initial intended release, The Forever Purge reads less like a horror movie and more like news headlines dialed up to absolute extremes. The thesis of this sequel gets summed up in a tiny but key scene that sees a notable character tell a news anchor, “America is diseased.” It drives that home at every possible turn. It’s well made and full of fantastic action set pieces, but it’s so profoundly pessimistic that it amounts to a grueling and unpleasant experience.
The Forever Purge releases in theaters on July 2.
