THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
The Purge was a film that quickly spoke volumes upon release due to the smart political themes that are more memorable than the action and the jump scares. With a decent success at the box office, it was a given for Blumhouse to capitalize on a sequel. Was it worth it? I’d like to think so.
PLOT
The 2014 sequel dubbed Anarchy takes place a year after the events of the first film. Instead of the Sandin family, the film follows multiple groups of people whose lives intertwine on the night of an annual purge. Estranged couple Shane & Liz plan to drive to the sister’s house to announce their intent to breakup. Their plans get foiled when during a grocery stop, their car gets tampered by a biker gang nearby that plan to participate on Purge night. Working class waitress Eva Sanchez lives with her daughter Cali and her terminally ill father Rico (John Beasley) who barricade their home in advance. Rico however slips out as he was paid by a rich family to be killed and the money would be given to his daughter & granddaughter. When Purge Night officially commences, both women get captured by an NFFA paramilitary platoon planning to offer them to their death squad leader Big Daddy. Thankfully, they get saved by an off duty sergeant who was on the way to avenge his son who was killed by a drunk driver that got acquitted. They evade Big Daddy’s group long enough until the sergeant’s car breaks down, resulting in them to keep moving on foot. Eva offers to give Leo a new car if he can get her and her daughter to the home of her coworker Tanya (Justina Machado) safely. As he agrees along the way, Shane & Liz tag along as well when they cross paths. Getting there is far from smooth due to Shane getting injured by another purging gang who had pyrotechnics. Once they reach Tanya’s home though, the situation does not deescalate. Just as Eva admits there was never another car, they get caught up witnessing a dispute between Tanya’s own family. The host ends up getting shot by his sister Lorraine (Roberta Valderrama) for sleeping with her husband Roddy (Niko Nicotera). As soon as Eva and her group leave the apartment, they get captured by the same purgers who ambushed Shane & Liz earlier. They’re all taken to an auction where upper class purgers plan to hunt them for sport. The sergeant would better their odds once gaining night vision goggles by the time they get thrown into an arena, but Shane gets killed in the crossfire before the remaining group get rescued by anti purgers, led by Carmelo Johns. Liz chooses to stay with him for the remainder of the purge, whereas the sergeant takes Eva & Cali with him for his mission. Taking another car, he reaches the home of Warren Grass (Brandon Keener), his son’s killer. He almost kills him but ultimately chooses to spare him, accepting that revenge would not bring his boy back. Just as he walks out the house and accepts a new lease on life, Big Daddy finds him and shoots him down. He then takes his time to confess he was hired by the NFFA to increase the body count as past purges have eliminated too few people of lower class. Before he can finish him, Warren intervenes and shoots him first. When the rest of Big Daddy’s squad appears, Eva & Cali join Warren in the crosshairs but no one else pulls a trigger before siren confirms the purge to be over. When Big Daddy’s squad leaves, the film ends with the sergeant being taken to the hospital by Warren, Eva & Cali.
THOUGHTS
James DeMonaco already set the crumbs on how chaotic a setting like this can be in the previous film, whereas in this one he goes grand to show how it’s worse than first imagined. Getting to see a bigger scope on how corrupt the concept is makes the experience all the more kinetic. Population control is not a new topic, yet seeing the portrayal of it here is unsettling because it sounds possible should the US fall down this path if they already haven’t. While I identify this as an action packed sequel due to how well edited each shootout is, it still has the horror element due to how normal various purgers approach it. Whether it is a first timer or a veteran, they naturally believe they’re helping the country be better rather than realize they’re making it worse. Each mask we see, which is a trademark in this franchise, are the most unsettling here because it represents how monstrous people can be deep down. Whether it is Lakeith Stanfield being remorseless as Ghoul Face by rounding up victims for the wealthy purgers, Noel G being an instant creep out of the landlord Diego who wanted to rape Eva for ignoring him daily, or Jack Conley making Big Daddy the most calculated willing to get paid to shoot people down with a mini-gun, all factors show how far people are willing to go for their own gain when the time is right for them. Thankfully with motivating characters like Michael K Williams brought to the table as Carmelo Johns, who straightforward sees through the deception of the government, this entry is able to maintain the themes of humanity and expresses that the ends don’t justify the means. Through the rest of the ensemble, it is able to be effective enough to be impressed. Frank Grillo gives an impressive performance as the sergeant, whose name is confirmed to be Leo Barnes in Election Year, due to being absolutely broken from such a loss. Like any parent, his son meant the world to him and couldn’t stand how such an accident wasn’t punished. While it felt clear that he knew revenge wouldn’t undo what happened, he would’ve not changed his mind anyway had he not saved people in need. Carmen Ejogo was good as Eva who nailed the parental instinct in protecting her daughter to the point where she’d risk lying to someone that can get away with killing him. I thought it was dumb of her to lie to Leo due to the stakes, but it comes to show desperate times lead to desperate measures. Zoë Soul was also good as Cali who seems more open minded due to what she’s learning. She shares the same belief with her mom that revenge is not beneficial no matter the stakes. Leo chose to save them because he wanted to give them the fighting chance his son didn’t get, thus returning the favor when having their own standoff before the sirens blared. Warren even intervened because that is his way to show gratitude for a grieving man to show mercy when he could’ve done worse. Knowing Leo found a new lease on life by the time of Election Year, I have to say whatever is next for Eva & Cali, I hope they can find a way to rebuild their lives from this night. Real life couple Zach Gilford & Kiel’s Sanchez were good choices when being paired up as Shane & Liz who seem to have lost their flair and have forgotten why they love each other in the first place. Sadly, it took loss for them to realize how pure their love always was. It was quite a surprise for Shane to have died due to how sudden it happened and you know how heartbroken Liz is because by then, she was actually reconsidering to give their relationship another chance. While the purge is not appropriate cleansing, I hope she finds solace once those sirens blared. While I respect the change of scenery to make the overall experience, there were still takeaways that held the film back from being better. For instance, what was stupider than Eva lying to sergeant was Shane & Liz not only driving to his sister to announce their separation, but choosing to also have a grocery pit stop since they’re likely to stay the night. Of all nights, purge night is the worst timing possible. And the grocery store still being open for them whereas the diner Eva barely worked barely closed before commencement is insane because that’s putting themselves at risk too. I don’t even understand why sergeant would wait until the hour before commencement to get going on his path to revenge. If he knew it’d be a long drive, he should’ve staked out rather than savor it. I also think he should’ve finished off Big Daddy before moving forward because it’d be one less mini-gun purger to worry about and his car would’ve not been severely injured. Even with Lorraine, she could’ve shot Tanya long before Eva and her group showed up. I then gotta agree with Liz with LA being too quiet on purge night. With everyone killing each other, and possible looting we haven’t seen, it’s insane how there’s no constant gunfire in the background. And not committing property damage on the banks is ridiculous because anyone could’ve foiled a big ass heist on purge night and that’d be awesome to watch too. And why didn’t Warren check his security system in advance of commencement if sergeant disabled it prior? That’s definitely asking for it. Lastly, I know Big Daddy wants to get even with sergeant for wiping out his crew, but if no vigilantes an are unwritten rule, why doesn’t he Carmelo who is saving way more people in comparison? That’s a way bigger threat to the NFFA and he should know that. Other than that, this movie still works with what it’s going for. In short, The Purge: Anarchy is an interesting horror action movie for expanding the lore through a different perspective. If you enjoyed what the first film got to do, I hope you’ll like this too.
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