The Purge (2013), is a smart little home invasion movie set within the backdrop of a yearly, state-sanctioned, night of lawlessness in which the USA purges itself by heading out into the night with the 2nd Amendment, or whatever comes to hand, to kill.  The interesting thing was that purging worked and the country was a ‘better’ place for it.  People believe in this blood letting, especially the rich hidden away in their fortresses, and the film is a critique of entitlement as well as a dirty exploitation flick.  The Purge: Anarchy opens this out and tells the real story, the story of the poor and the down-town mayhem.

To it’s credit the film doesn’t spend much time on rehashing the set-up and gets right down to ensuring that various characters are still on the streets or hiding behind puny all-they-could-afford locks once the sirens go.  And then it all kicks off and, pleasingly, reminds me of the likes of Judgement Night (1993), Surviving the Game (1994) and The Warriors (1979) twisted through a dystopian lens.

I’m really quite taken with these films.

Highly Recommended.