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Written and directed by James DeMonaco, and a big improvement on its predecessor, The Purge: Anarchy, is thrilling and intelligent enough to be enjoyable to its audience.
Set one year after the first, which left a bad taste in many mouths, The Purge: Anarchy takes the story and the danger out of one isolated home and on to the wild streets, for the most deadly night of the year; the annual purge.
We meet five people, hours away from the commencement of the purge, all with separate stories but find themselves working together to try and survive the night. Waitress Eva Sanchez (Carmen Ejogo- Pride and Glory) and her daughter Cali (Zoe Soul- Prisoners), live in a low-income area that is one of the many targeted by purgers. We meet Shane (Zach Gilford- Devils Due) and Liz (Kiele Sanchez- A Perfect Getaway), a young couple contemplating separation who are driving to a family members for the evening when their car breaks down. And finally, we have the mysterious Sergeant Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo), riding out in a bulletproof Mustang, clearly seeking some form of vengeance.
When the mother and daughter duo find themselves about to be executed by some sort of army, Leo steps in and shoots up their attackers before finding the couple, Shane and Liz inside his car begging for a ride. The five are now in this together but one with unfinished business to take care of and the rest trying to survive the violence; the main objective now becomes to outlive the night. But as it’s the deadliest night of the year they find themselves being wanted by many, including a group of freakishly masked purgers.
The mystery is well timed, dragged on just long enough to keep you wondering, but not so long that you stop caring. The Purge: Anarchy stands on its own feet much better than the first film. Instead of trying to be scary it focuses on the action where all-out war is annually declared legal for twelve hours. And it makes for one thrilling ride. I thought the cast all did a good job of portraying various states of mind in a moment of unruliness.
The Purge: Anarchy is about a lot more than unleashing one’s beast and I would definitely recommend it for a dirty and disturbing thriller, where society is the killer. Would you join in the antics on purge night or hide away and wait until morning?
WICKED RATING: 7/10 [usr 7]
Title: The Purge: Anarchy
Director(s): James DeMonaco
Writer(s): James DeMonaco
Stars: Frank Grillo, Carmen Ejogo, Zach Gilford
Year: 2014
Studio/ Production Co: Blumhouse Productions, Platinum Dunes, Universal Pictures
Budget: $9,000,000 (estimated)
Language: English
Length: 103mins
Sub-Genre: Action, Thriller
