10 Terrible Horror Movies That Tricked You Into Thinking They’re Good

2. The Purge

The Purge
Universal

There's a reason why The Purge series has endured for so many years and it's not because people like watching other people get hacked to bits in the middle of the street.

Ok, it's not just that.

The franchise's central conceit - that a new American political party offers up twelve hours every year where all crime is unpunishable - is really interesting. It offers a chance to explore the darker side of humanity, a glimpse at what a truly anarchistic society might look like.

Instead, it ended up being an excuse for the filmmakers to show loads of explosions and people getting shot in the face.

The original Purge movie from 2013 forgets about its own philosophy about twenty minutes in. The interesting concept vanishes and it becomes just another home invasion movie. The actual Purge itself barely plays into the story at all!

If the first movie didn't go well, then the rest of the series really didn't stand a chance. Things got a little better with Anarchy and Election Year, but they never reached the lofty heights that this idea could have.

And when it comes to The Forever Purge - bleugh!

Contributor
Contributor

Jacob Simmons has a great many passions, including rock music, giving acclaimed films three-and-a-half stars, watching random clips from The Simpsons on YouTube at 3am, and writing about himself in the third person.