THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Like it or not, Blumhouse’s biggest franchise will always be The Purge due to consistency upon release as well as success financial enough to keep going. When Election Year ended in such a cliffhanger, there was no way we wouldn’t see the true aftermath.
PLOT
The Forever Purge takes place 8 years after Elizabeth Roan winning the presidential election which had a short lived term of prosperity. Eventually, the NFFA got re-elected and re-instituted the purge after she previously abolished it. The decision results in nationwide racial supremacy & nativism surging in the US. Instead of continuing the story through Roan, it follows Hispanic couple Juan & Adela who cross the border from Mexico to Austin, Texas intending to build new lives for themselves. Juan gets a job being a handler for the Tucker family while Adela works in town running a kitchen of a meat company. The Tucker family includes: Dylan Tucker, his pregnant wife Cassie, sister Harper and their father Caleb. 10 months later, a returning purge is upon them and on the eve of it, they join a migrant community behind a walled sanctuary while the Tuckers stay at home protected by their security system. On the way to the sanctuary however, Adela noticed a nationalist group who go under the alias ‘Purge Purification Force’ or PPF and kill those they believe to be Non American. Overnight, neither family is unbothered after 12 hours have gone by. Normalcy is far from returning because by the time Adela returns to work in Austin, she gets attacked by masked assailants who want to purge forever after the legal 12 hour gap. She does get saved by her boss Darius (Sammi Rotibi), but the cops mistake them to be purgers. When Juan and his coworker TT (Alejandro Edda) return to work at the ranch, they end up saving the Tuckers from other farmhands who try to take the ranch for themselves. The family isn’t unscathed before being rescued as Caleb gets sacrificed in the process. As they retreat, they listen to the news confirming many civilians around the country have connected via social media to declare a forever purge where their killing sprees can be endless & without consequence. The group does rescue Adela & Darius from other purgers, but the latter chooses to stay behind to look for his family. At a gas station, the group sees the news confirming the NFFA are not involved in the shocking turn of events and have declared martial law to contain the violence. They also get confirmation from a radio news report revealing the Mexican and Canadian presidents have opened their borders for only 6 hours to help the non purgers. This inspires the group to head towards El Paso where the Mexican border will be. They do get there with only 3 hours left, but the nearest city is so hectic that Adela & Cassie get separated from the others. The other four get cornered by an alpha PPF member credited as Elijah (Jeffrey Doornbos) and his lover he calls Mother (Susie Abromeit);. They kill TT and offer the Tuckers a chance to live if they kill Juan. Thankfully, they don’t get to decide when getting distracted by NFFA reinforcements. They meet up with Adela & Cassie in which hear the news give an update that the borders are closing nearby, which’ll make them vulnerable to be purged. Luckily, they get taken to a native tribe that offers to take them to the border as refugees. When Alpha follows them by sunrise, the group assists tribal leader Chiago Harjo (Zahn McClarney) in a standoff where they wipe out the oppressors long enough to cross. By then, Cassie gives birth to her firstborn at a refugee camp. The film ends in a final news report revealing the NFFA being overwhelmed by the violence they can no longer control but despite millions of Americans crossing the border as refugees, millions of others are still rallying to fight back against purgers.
THOUGHTS
I was patiently waiting for this film to happen because you don't set up inevitable chaos and leave it be. Writer James DeMonaco knew that and with the assist of Director Eduardo Gout, it was honestly worth the wait. The tables have significantly turned because the government lost its control over something they created. The consequences on being selfishly cheap laid a heavy price overall. Due to this film coming out during the COVID-19 pandemic, it did feel like a reflection on what was going on then. Especially when Donald Trump had his own term as US President, not just the US but our whole world did feel divided because we had a hard time differentiating the pros and cons he brought to the table. We have seen how this fictional setting heavily affected African Americans, so seeing the shift focus on Hispanic immigrants and how they were affected felt refreshing. It then brought gigantic irony to see Americans become immigrants when the country has always had divisive opinions about it. The true horror comes from the fact everyone participating and going overboard believe they're doing the right thing. It's already a bad thing for the government to allow legal murder for one night a year, but going the legal timespan is where it gets messy. All the costumes designed by Leah Butler were so creative in continuing the theme on how true colors get embraced at the darkest of times. With all the insanity that ensues, it can get hard on finding optimism in this world if good feels temporary and bad comes off everlasting. When I think of that, I remind myself that as long as you are true to the morality of wanting to be the best version of yourself that involves not being superior over others, then good can still live on. Had it not been through the impressive ensemble, the message would have not sold me this time. Techno Huerta & Ana de la Reguera were a fantastic pair as Juan & Adela because they grew up as people who had to fight for their lives and now want to be in a chapter where they want to stop fighting. Adela is the one who is insistent about it due to being involved in a guerilla war that led to them having to leave. Juan is hesitant because he doesn’t want to forget who he is in this second chance. Ironically, they get put in a case of going back to their roots to regain prosperity. While we know they can handle the obstacles, it’s their friends who bring a whole different flavor. Will Patton was great in his given time as Caleb was self aware on how flawed the country is but refuses to let that define him. As part of his dying words, he knew better than anyone that participating in the purge did not benefit anyone that wasn’t actual NFFA members. And once the obvious truth was said aloud, he was killed for it. Josh Lucas has his complex portrayal to date when it came to Dylan. You quickly want to assume the guy is racist when suggesting his child should not need to learn Spanish and ignore the benefit of it. He clears things up though when saying Americans aren’t better than anyone, but believes one’s people should stick with their own then blend with another, believing leaving each other alone can eliminate the tension. That does come off as segregationist, but he means well since he has no true animosity towards Juan or Adela. Is it a surprise for him and his family having to cross the Mexican border? Yes, but he’s not gonna complain because he knows it’s better than defending something that can be rebuilt. Cassidy Tucker & Leven Rambin are also great additions because as Cassie & Harper, they see Juan & Adela as equals before things go sour and trust them on what they should do to survive. Had they not brought that attitude to the table, Dylan would likely more angsty about the needs to work together and luckily it never gets there. If it wasn’t for Juan & Adela, Cassie’s baby would’ve not been safely born. Since non purging Americans are revealed to defend themselves against the PPF in the end, it does give another optimal perspective to keep fighting no matter how tough the stakes get for you. This film is actually better than I was expecting, there were a still a handful of moments that could’ve been done better. For starters, it was totally on Caleb seeing Dylan with a chip on his shoulder when telling him Juan is a better handler. And if he wants his son to respect his employee, he should tell him to not take it personal. Hell if he means well with Juan, he should’ve invited him & Adela to their home for purge night and ignore how Dylan would feel about it instead of letting them wait it out with a migrant community. Dylan also tests our patience when he turns down his non-working friends coming over for purge night. It’s not a social gathering, it’s bettering the chances of survival and he should know that. That’s honestly worse than not letting people have a day off the day after the purge. Also, how the hell does Juan not know what holidays are after 10 months of living in Austin? At that point, he should know what Christmas or Halloween are. If he knows what they are but not the word because he’s still practicing English, that could’ve been better implied. I don’t even see the point of Adela freeing the goat from the trap. With the original purge just concluding, she should know that trap was meant for humans. On top of that, is there any true political leader reaching out to the public to purge forever if the trend started through social media? Like The Riddler gained a cult through the dark web in The Batman, there had to be somebody to inspire the madness. And the fact they don’t answer it here is quite irritating. Ignore this, then you’ll still have a good time like before. To wrap up, The Forever Purge is another unique entry in the horror action franchise for giving another creative spin in its explorative themes. If you’ve enjoyed the previous movies, it’s a no brainer you’ll dig this too.
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