As ominous and foreboding as one would suspect, The Purge is a suburban vigilante massacre movie wrapped tightly within a clever concept.  The concept is that only one night each year, people can do whatever they want, up to and including murder, to whoever they want, without reprisal.  Most people hunker down and batten down the hatches . . . but one never knows who might be prowling about with mischief on their minds.

It’s a terrific idea for a horror film, but writer-director James DeMonaco aims more directly toward suspense while exploring the moral dilemmas exposed when two different people find themselves in a family’s upper-middle class home.  The moral considerations are perhaps too heavily handled, introduced by the actions of the young boy who clearly doesn’t understand the ramifications of loving thy neighbor on such a night.  Yet without clear delineation of the moral aspects of the situation, this would be just an ugly, unrepentant vigilante movie.

What undoes the film’s effectiveness is the interminable middle section, where people hunt each other through the house.  Although the house is large, it is ridiculous that attacks and gunfights can occur in rooms and hallways seemingly unheard and unnoticed by anyone else.  DeMonaco handles quite poorly many of the little details that could have made this tale effective and convincing.  He also telegraphs every single surprise that his script tries to provide.  This is only his second feature film as a director but it seems clear that DeMonaco’s writing is better than his direction.

Even with its flaws, however, it must be admitted that The Purge is a lightning rod for the debate about America’s fascination with violence and that it presents an important view of social inequality.  It is more than mindless violence; it genuinely attempts to explore the nature of our capacity for and desire to partake in ritualistic bloodletting. It should have been a much better movie than it actually is, but the framework for something special is present.  Plans for future cinematic Purges are underway, so we may yet witness something really worthwhile after all.  ☆ ☆.  25 June 2013.