DVD Review: The Purge Anarchy
According to the cover art, The Purge: Anarchy is the sequel of the epic horror thriller The Purge. I skipped on the first film, which might have been a mistake, because part two wasn’t too bad, especially for a sequel. It’s a film that stands on it’s own, but I can’t say if it has any bearing on the original.
The basic premise is this: The American government has decided that an annual purge is required to keep the population in check. The result of this annual purge has been a decrease in crime and unemployment. America is better because of the purge. So what is the purge? It’s one night a year (a full twelve hours) where everything is legal. Whilst everything might be legal, The Purge only focuses on murder. No one is raped, robbed, or any of the many other crimes that could have been partaken.
The storyline follows a survival thriller tack, with the focus quickly spotlighting the plight of 5 individuals who just happen to stumble into each other and decided that they have a better chance to survive the night if they stick together.
Along the way the stumble onto a sinister government conspiracy and discuss at length that the purge is purely a way for rich, white America to curb the population of the undesirables, as it is only the rich that can afford adequate protection for the annual slaughter fest.
The Purge: Anarchy moves along at a decent pace, stays fairly predictable but has a few surprises in-store. It’s political posturing and social commentary on the one hand are a nice touch, but on the other only shows up some gaping holes in the plot.
All in all, not a bad way to spend an evening, if you like your thrillers with a healthy dose of ultra violence and blood.
Rating: R16 Violence, offensive language and content that may disturb.
FILMGUIDE rating:
