I love a good sci-fi horror, but I generally find that the two genres mix better on other planets or in outer space, like in Aliens or Pandorum. Still, sometimes all it takes is a touch of utopia in the near future — which of course turns out to be dystopia after all. Take the upcoming movie The Purge, whose first trailer seems to indicate the movie’s shaping up well despite the fact that it stars Ethan Hawke.
Made by the Sinister and Paranormal Activity people, America is doing great in The Purge. Crime is low, there are plenty of jobs, and it’s all because the populace gets all the crap out of its system on a single night each year. One night “that allows people release,” a window of time when crime is legal. There will be no prosecution, no penalty, for anything — not even murder.
It’s a tall order to believe this would be any kind of solution to society’s problems, but it could certainly make for a good movie. Who knows? I have to admit, the prospect of absolutely no official help is terrifying. You know watching most horror films that the cops aren’t going to be any help, but there’s at least that glimmer of hope, the chance that the authorities could bust in and help combat the monster.
Not here. This is more like post-apocalyptic stories, where it’s every man for himself, at least for one night. I only hope it proves to be better than the home-invasion subgenre of horror films, since the plot involves Ethan Hawke’s family battening down for the night hoping to wait out this year’s Purge, and then things go horribly wrong.
This at least promises to have more punch than Gattaca.
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