15 Fascinating Premises That Were Bigger Than The Movies Themselves

3. The Purge

The Premise: The police have legalised all crime, just for a day. When an intruder breaks into James Sandin's house, the family have to get through the night without becoming monsters. It's a conversation that you've probably had with someone at some point in your life: if you could do anything and get away with it, what would you do? The Purge is a film that investigates that question, but rather than focussing on the inevitable turf wars and carnage in the cities, it centres itself in a suburban household, looking at the darkness of an ordinary family. Whilst that's compelling enough for most, the film becomes more like an Alien-style hunt for the purgers in the house, exploring the greyness of morality as soon as laws are lifted. Whilst The Purge was brave to focus on a family, rather than a gang, it did feel like it had squandered great opportunities; what are the wider consequences of this night? What kind of society tolerates this? Perhaps we'll see more answers in the sequel, out this summer.