Day 1 - The Purge: Election Year - October Horror Movie Challenge

THE PURGE: ELECTION YEAR (2016)

This is not a test, this is your emergency broadcast system announcing the commencement of the annual purge sanctioned by the U.S. government...

(There will be major spoilers so skip if you don't want to be spoiled)

Leo Barnes is back! After getting shot, stabbed and kidnapped during the Purge 2 years ago, he's back and more bad ass than ever. This time around he's tasked with protecting Senator Charlie Roan who's running for president with the number one promise being to end the purge.

When Charlie was young her whole family was kidnapped by a psychopath who played games with them and made up a "purge playlist" of his favorite tunes to play while he murdered them. In the end he made the mother choose who survived and killed the rest. Charlie was the only survivor.

The purge has gotten out of hand, more so than usual. America is in the midst of a change with two vastly different people running for president (sound familiar?). We have Charlie and we have Edwidge Owens, also known as the Minister. The Minister is working for the NFFA (new founding fathers of America) and they are determined to make him president so that he can keep the purge going. You see - the purge is good for business. It gets rid of the poor, it gets rid of the homeless, it keeps insurance rates high and it keeps health care low.

Charlie is making a wave with the people of America - they want change, they want freedom again and they're on her side. During a debate between Charlie and the Minister she makes the powerful statement, is murder our new religion? Because every purge, government leaders have a midnight purge mass where they murder druggies and low income people all in the name of the purge. But the NFFA are out to get Charlie this year, we're going to use this years purge to do some spring cleaning gentlemen. Every year one of the purge rules is that government officials are exempt and can't be touched, so this year the NFFA changes the rule, no citizen or group will be exempt.

Leo and Charlie know this change is made so that they can assassinate Charlie and end their problem. Charlie wants to stay home the night of the purge, to show the citizens that she is just like them, so Leo locks down her house and fills it with security instead of taking her to a government safe house. But unfortunately some of the security are working for the NFFA and so they let in some hired mercenaries to end her life. But Leo is the most prepared man in America (once again) and helps Charlie escape. But now they're out on the streets.

The other players in this movie are Joe Dixon, an older man who owns a deli, his worker Marcos and a young woman named Laney. They have a sort of separate story line going on at the beginning. Joe's insurance company calls him the day before the purge and ups his insurance rate by thousands of dollars which he can't afford. Which means he's without coverage on purge day. Just another show of how crooked the purge has become. So he sits up on his roof all night with Marcos, until they see Charlie and Leo being kidnapped and rescue them. Laney runs a triage vehicle all night during the purge, helping those she can. And Laney is SO FUCKING BAD ASS. There's a scene where she plows through a crowd of awful millennials trying to break into Joe's Deli and she doesn't even bat an eyelash. I love her so much.

Alright....so what did I love about this movie?

• The lore of the purge continues and we gain an even more deeper understanding of how people survive the purge. 
• MURDER TOURISTS!!!!! - people who travel to America just to partake in the purge. How insane is that?!
• The purge scenes are more epic than ever - the costumes, the murders, the goddamn guillotine...
• The triage center made my heart swell. It's a safe place set up for the homeless, for children, for people who have nowhere safe to go. It was so beautiful and showed the true kindness that society still has for each other.
• The final showdown was SO intense I felt like I was holding my breathe the whole time.  
• James DeMonaco has written and directed all three of these films which is basically unheard of but I love it.

What I didn't love?

• Laney's past was very secretive. This annoying millennial comes into Joe's Deli to shop lift but Laney stops her and she gets all star struck and calls Laney "little death". Then it's never really mentioned again. We get the vague idea she comes from a gang life but like....what?
• Leo gets shot at one point by the mercenaries and the bullet is in his shoulder, the mercenaries use this to trace him and find Leo and Charlie. This....seemed a little insane. Is this a thing? Traces put in bullets?!
• The final ending was kind of weak. It's just Marcos painting the deli and the news is on in the background and it announces Charlie is president and it's all yeyyyy! Then it cuts to a news caster voice saying that Purge enthusiasts are rioting in the streets and then it just cuts to black. It felt really weird. Like....it could've been so much more powerful but instead it felt panicky and rushed. Completely out of place for the rest of the movie.
• The NFFA mercenaries have Nazi symbols on their uniforms and "white power" stitched on their backs. This seemed a little over the top. AS IF the government would allow them to walk around like that. It's not Trump leading the way.

Overall -
I thought it was amazing. It was a great third act that's for sure. I think Anarchy remains my favorite of the three because it really flipped the franchise on its head. But Election Year was a great addition. I loved all the characters. Laney is who I want to grow up to be. Joe and Marcos are an adorable dynamic. Charlie managed to play sensitive politician without coming off cheesy. And Leo remains the most organized, violent individual, with a seemingly endless supply of black pea coats.

So what's next for The Purge?
Well, unfortunately, there's been talks of a TV show. Which I hate the idea of. I am so not on board for horror movies being turned into TV shows. Like....create your own horror show. Scream Queens I recently watched and it was AMAZING. Not what I expected at all. American Horror Story! This season is insane so far and I love it. Salem? So great. Penny Dreadful? So fucked up and great. There is no need to make horror movies into TV shows because they rarely work.

Good news though is that a 4th Purge is highly likely. And the rumors are it will be a prequel to the first three that will take us all the way back to how the NFFA was founded and what caused the purge to come into effect in the first place, and how it got so out of control.

I loved this film, I love this franchise, give me ten more please and thank you (but no TV show). Also, did you know there's fan fiction written about Leo and Charlie?! Seriously. I found some. I was looking for a friend....

A solid 10/10. 

Stay spooky!