Thursday, June 27, 2013
When I talk about my favorite science fiction books or movies, I tend to bring up one topics over and over again. And that topic is world building. In order to succeed at making a quality sci-fi film, in my opinion at least, one needs to first focus on the world building, and once that is established...then comes the easy part. So, when I first saw the trailer for The Purge, I got a little excited, because it looked like it established a really cool not so distant dystopia where lots of weird stuff could happen. I was right about part of that.The Purge takes place in the not-so-distant future of 2022, where a new government has sanctioned, once a year, a 12-hour period where all crime is legal. This 12-hour window becomes known as the annual purge. The movie revolves around one well-to-do family who don’t participate in the purge, but respect it for what it does. At 7:00 PM on March 21st, they turn on their heavy duty security system and hunker down for 12 hours of peace and quiet...until something happens.
I think that the one thing that really works for this film is the world that it takes place in. It is such a cool sci-fi concept that I really found myself in awe for the first 20 minutes where everything is set up. Sadly, this movie deviated from sci-fi and went straight into horror. Instead of sticking to being a dystopian thriller, it became an odd combination of The Strangers and Straw Dogs.
The entire time I was watching this movie, I just felt like they had wasted such a good idea on a cheap horror film. I wish that, instead of having this being the family trapped in their home, afraid of the Polite Stranger (who was frighteningly played by Rhys Wakefield,) I wish it had taken them out of the house and into this strange new world. It would have made for a much better sci-fi film, more in the vein of Escape from New York. I’m not gonna sit here and say I could write a better script, but I think they could have used the concept more to their advantage.
That being said, I didn’t hate this movie. I thought that the acting was pretty good, with Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey leading the pack. But the best part was the direction. I was actually surprised at how scared this movie made me. And I think a lot of that came from the beautiful camera work. Some of the cool things that were done in this film, like using the little remote control doll, were pretty fun to watch (and frightening at the same time.)
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With a phenomenal opening, I actually had some high expectations for this film. Sadly, it trailed off and lost be about halfway through. I would still say it’s worth seeing, but it isn’t a must see.
Writing: 5.5/10
Directing: 6/10
Acting: 4.5/10
Pacing: 5.5/10
Rewatchability: 6/10
Score: 5.5/10
