Critical Analysis Review of The Purge: Anarchy

An indirect sequel to the first Purge film, America’s most anticipated action-horror and thriller film of 2014, The Purge: Anarchy keeps viewers on their toes as they are exposed to the true flaws of a utopian America. Anarchy, literally meaning a state of disorder due to absence or non-recognition of authority, is a major focus of the film, overall stressing “survival of the fittest” and the distinctions among two main social classes, the rich and the poor. In this film, viewers are shown three groups of people hoping to get through Purge Night, just as their stories intertwine and are left stranded trying to survive the chaos and violence that occurs.
Director and writer of the film, James DeMonaco, did a great job of emphasizing how the government and the National Founding Fathers of America (NFFA) created the “Purge” as a means to their own ends. Apparently, this night, in which all crime (including murder) is legal for twelve continuous hours, was designed to allow individuals to “cleanse their souls” by releasing aggression. As seen in the film, character Donald Talbot, a member of the NFF, states that the “solution to dealing with an epidemic of crime plaguing this nation, is the purge.” However, it seems that there is a greater reason behind this annual commencement that the government does not want its citizens to know.
It is obvious that DeMonaco centers the film around this concept, in an attempt to persuade viewers of our own “corrupted and self-beneficial” government, and how they try to avoid apparent issues, such as class differences, within our country. The NFF claims to be fighting for the American ideals of the original founding fathers, which are to “establish justice,” “insure domestic tranquility,” and “promote the general welfare.” Taking place in the year 2023, it is announced that the unemployment rate is at 0.85%, an unprecedented, record-breaking figure that was previously thought impossible. According to the NFF, the Purge is the night that “saved our country.” By recognizing the inherently violent nature of mankind, the NFF believed to have succeeded in creating a lawful, healthy outlet for American outrage. The character Carmelo Jones, an underground evangelist leading an anti-Purge movement, speaks out against the NFF by attempting to convince others (via the Internet) to not participate during this night because of the NFF’s hidden message and everything bad it represents. For example, he proclaims that the government is actually using the Purge to decrease the population by getting rid of the poor, who can’t afford to protect themselves, in order to save money. From then on, we see that outcasts are really the only ones who pay their attention to this resistance group.
One great aspect of this movie is its theme of survival of the fittest, and how it relates to one of the Big Three sociopolitical issues, class. In this film, we see that the rich/wealthy, and government officials are at the very top of the social hierarchy; they are the most protected and viewed as the more refined predators during the annual Purge. Any individual not belonging to these groups are the most desperate and worrisome. For example, the middle class, poor, homeless, and minorities are subject to boarding up their homes and cowering in fear of being prey for a very long twelve hours. However, the ones not hiding away in their homes and seeking revenge, are extremely violent and reckless in their methods of purging, using any weapon that falls under “class four or lower,” a rule created by the NFF concerning participants. Throughout this night, vigilante gangs, mysterious hit men, and the wealthy wreak havoc all over America, in this particular case, downtown Los Angeles. The film boldly takes on a very political perspective and diagnoses the United States as an entity grappling with staggering economic inequality issues.
Although this film is good for its action scenes, the overall message behind these actions are even more impressive. It implies that the individuals most “privileged,” the ones with wealth and power, have better chances of surviving than those in poverty. Of course this is true because how are those with fewer resources supposed to protect themselves on a night like this, against the people who seem to have it all? Aside from the “every day rich person,” government officials also take advantage of this night by rounding up the weak and “undesirable,” and having them killed off to promote a society revolved around perfectionism, an idea developed by the NFF. Targeted for having fewer means to defend themselves, the lower classes, homeless, and minorities are easily and quickly wiped out. Therefore, allowing the Purge to take place makes it more “convenient for the government to brag about a nation with an all-time-low crime rate, and even lower unemployment and homeless statistics.”
In this sequel to last year’s The Purge, the story line revolves around three groups of strangers almost “coincidentally” brought together by this event to survive the night. Eva, Cali, and Rico (“Papa”) are a family of the lower and minority class. Before the night begins, Papa explicitly informs his daughter and granddaughter that he does not support the Purge. However, in one scene at the beginning of the film, he announces he will be going to his room to take a nap. When his granddaughter Cali goes to check on him later in the day, she is startled to find a note on his bed instead. Calling her mom into the room, the mother daughter duo read the memo in which Papa discloses that since he is already dying, he will be going to the home a rich family and will voluntarily give up his life. By allowing the family to purge on him, they will in return supply money to Eva’s account for financial support, one of the many examples shown of how the upper class use their powers to manipulate those below them. Eva and Cali are later seen in a more frightening situation, when they notice a SWAT-team of men out their window, trying to get into the building. Immediately following, their neighbor Diego breaks in and admits to planning on raping and “purging” them. Just as he’s licking Eva’s face, A SWAT-member comes in to save the two, only to capture them again and drag them towards a truck parked outside, in which “Big Daddy” awaits to purge them.
Shane and Liz are a couple that seem to be on the verge of breaking up and going their separate ways, until their car breaks down just two hours before the Purge begins, and are kind of forced to stay together and find a way to survive. Although there is obvious tension between the two throughout the course of the movie, it seems as though the Purge may have actually saved their relationship. Personally, it seems as the though the couple has no real importance throughout the movie. They’re just there, simply to try to give the movie more drama by adding in the amount of people involved. After a trip to the grocery store, the couple is spooked by “a punk with face paint and a cross on his forehead. As they are on the road, the car breaks down in the middle of a street, not long before the Purge begins. Once they notice a gang of “punks in face paint” riding up close to them, they realize that it was one of the gang’s members they previously ran into who cut the wires of their car. The couple immediately makes a run for it, not even knowing where they’re off to.
Leo, a police sergeant that goes out into the streets to get revenge on the man who killed his son, is the mysterious loner of the group. He’s first introduced to the other characters when as he is driving, notices a SWAT-like team of men trying to force Eva and Cali into a truck. He tries to persuade himself to ignore the scene and continue driving, but seeing the ladies struggle to fight back, he finds it in his heart to come out of the bulletproof car and shoot the men down. While Leo is outside fighting the savages off Eva and Cali, Shane and Liz appear as they run into his empty, unlocked car and decide to sneak in. As Leo is walking back to his car after Finally killing off every SWAT-member, Leo is hesitant to look behind and offer the ladies to join him as he walks back toward his car, but does so anyway. Arriving to the car, startled by Shane and Liz’s presence, Leo draws his gun on them until he is assured that they are unarmed and not looking to purge. He reluctantly takes everyone with him just as Big Daddy emerges from the truck, the punks with face paint not too far behind, and they open fire with their machine guns. After escaping Big Daddy and his gang, Leo’s car breaks down. He decides to leave the rest to figure out what to do on their own, and will continue on his initial journey of seeking revenge for his son. However, Eva strikes up a deal with him; she offers to get him a new car from her friend/coworker, if he promises to get them to her place safely. The group is left to fend for themselves, ducking and dodging purgers going on a rampage in these these horrific streets, ultimately trying to stay alive.
Although both The Purge and The Purge: Anarchy are films based on the political movements of the U.S in the 22nd century, both have their similarities and differences accordingly. For example in the first film of the sequel, unemployment and crime rates have fallen to only 1% and the economy is at an all-time high. However, in The Purge: Anarchy, crime rate has decreased to 0.85%. One of the main differences is the different perspectives taken in each movie. The first movie depicts a wealthy family, in their own homes, trying to avoid any contact with outsiders. However, a middle-aged black male, running from a purger, finds a way to sneak into the family’s home just as the commencement begins. The entire movie settles around the family trying to capture the man within their home, and deliver him to those who are looking to murder him. Given a time limit, if the family fails to obey, the specified purger and his crew promise to break through the family’s high-class security and kill them as well. The second film is a bit more general, in which the focus is settled on three groups of strangers, who almost seem to have been chosen randomly. It is never made clear why the story revolves around these specific characters, which makes it difficult to concentrate on the plot itself.

Also, there is a huge lack of common sense in these new characters, which makes it hard to sympathize with them in certain situations. For example, Eva, Shane, and Liz, all apart of the lower class, know that they do not have high tech security in their homes, yet choose to be in the streets just a few hours before the Purge begin. Instead of requesting the day off from work (which Eva did not do), or casually and nonchalantly going grocery shopping, why haven’t these characters spent the day, or even months in advance, preparing for this night of terror that quickly approaches. Arguably, the first film of the sequel was more interesting, as far as actions and characters go. The Purge was all too predictable, and I didn’t really enjoy having to connect the many “plot holes.” However, it did succeed in capturing the essence of issues concerned with government and social class.