Susan Granger’s review of “The Purge: Election Year” (Universal Pictures)
Combining sanctioned violence with the timely political scene proves an audience-intriguing premise for this third installment in James DeMonaco’s subversive, low-budget, horror/thriller franchise.
It reveals a futuristic America in which mayhem and murder are legal one night a year. During the 12-hour Purge, people can either try to stay safe or go on a crime-spree, suffering no consequences for their actions.
Sgt. Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo) is now head of security for idealistic Senator Charlie Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell), a Presidential candidate who promises to end the barbaric ritual, having lost her family during the mayhem several years ago.
Abolitionist Roan is now a prime target for the NFFA (the New Founding Fathers of America), a white supremacist group that views Purge Night as purification, a necessary escape valve that encourages economic subjugation. Their Oval Office candidate is a conservative/Christian minister (Kyle Secor).
So when a betrayal forces Leo Barnes and Charlie Roan out onto the streets of Washington, D.C., they must fight for survival – against blood-thirsty, axe-wielding, paramilitary fiends, wearing Abraham Lincoln and George Washington masks.
They’re joined by an African-American bodega owner (Mykelti Williamson) who’s furious about a spike in his “Purge insurance” premium, his immigrant employee (Joseph Julian Soria), and an anti-Purge EMT (Betty Gabriel).
Starting with “The Purge” (2013), followed by “The Purge: Anarchy” (2014), writer/director James DeMonaco has tapped into today’s adversarial political climate, a pulpy polarization that feeds on anger and aggression, frosting it with a layer of pop culture satire.
Not that his idea is new. “A Clockwork Orange” first shocked audiences with ritualized slaughter, followed by many films over the years, including the recent “Road Warrior” and “Hunger Games.”
What’s unique about DeMonaco’s dystopic concept is that – within a so-called civilized society – ALL crime has been legalized for 12 hours.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Purge: Election Year” is a fascistic 5, appealing to the homicidal maniac lurking inside everyone who has experienced something as simple as road rage.
