With crime and unemployment at just 1%, minimal violence in society and crime at a record low, you'd think that The Purge takes place in a pretty pleasant future. What you'll find is that it's actually a horrific exploration of social despair and political misguidance. By 2022, the New Founders of America are in control of the United States and in order to maintain this control have created The Purge, an annual 12 hour window where all crime becomes legal. Their aim is to eliminate the poor and needy from society to unburden the economy so that the nation may flourish once again. I'll admit that when I heard about The Purge, I thought the idea of being able to kill the people that had spilled my pint or parked in my space would be fantastic. But then I calmed down and realised that it probably wouldn't be all that great. As you'd expect there are plenty of deaths in the movie, even from the very start as footage of people being dragged into the street and beaten to death plays out to the strains of Debussy's 'Clair De Lune'. The worst death in the movie, though, is that of James Sandin, husband, father, and home security system salesman. The irony is that Sandin is killed by the very security system designed to keep him safe. No, he's not crushed under a door or anything, but we find that his saccharine neighbours are pretty unhappy at him profiting from their need for security during The Purge, making his home and family a target. After a group of Purgers get into the house, he's ultimately stabbed whilst trying to protect his family simply because he made a living selling security systems. The most shocking aspect of his death is the readiness and willingness of human beings to murder one another, simply out of jealousy, bitterness or anger, in a society created by a government which has designated its officials immune from The Purge.
