Former Police Sergeant Barnes becomes head of security for Senator Charlie Roan, a Presidential candidate targeted for death on Purge night due to her vow to eliminate the Purge.
Director:
James DeMonaco
Stars:
Frank Grillo,
Elizabeth Mitchell,
Mykelti Williamson
A wealthy family is held hostage for harboring the target of a murderous syndicate during the Purge, a 12-hour period in which any and all crime is legal.
America's third political party, the New Founding Fathers of America, comes to power and conducts an experiment: no laws for 12 hours on Staten Island. No one has to stay on the island, but $5,000 is given to anyone who does.
Bodies are turning up around the city, each having met a uniquely gruesome demise. As the investigation proceeds, evidence points to one suspect: John Kramer, the man known as Jigsaw, who has been dead for over 10 years.
Directors:
Michael Spierig,
Peter Spierig
Stars:
Matt Passmore,
Tobin Bell,
Callum Keith Rennie
Two strangers, who awaken in a room with no recollection of how they got there, soon discover they're pawns in a deadly game perpetrated by a notorious serial killer.
A deaf and mute writer who retreated into the woods to live a solitary life must fight for her life in silence when a masked killer appears at her window.
Director:
Mike Flanagan
Stars:
John Gallagher Jr.,
Kate Siegel,
Michael Trucco
After a teenager has a terrifying vision of him and his friends dying in a plane crash, he prevents the accident only to have Death hunt them down, one by one.
A couple are driving home when their car breaks down just as the Purge commences. Meanwhile, a police sergeant goes out into the streets to get revenge on the man who killed his son, and a mother and daughter run from their home after assailants destroy it. The five people meet up as they attempt to survive the night in Los Angeles.Written by
Anonymous
Scenes from the first film can be seen during the credits as archive footage. See more »
Goofs
At the beginning of the movie Shane and Liz's car breaks down after being tampered with. While looking under the car there is fluid dripping and cut wires hanging. This however does not make sense. Shane say's he lost power steering , car stalls, and cranks but doesn't start. If an electrical circuit is cut that keeps the car from starting, they couldn't have left the market. This "tampering" would have been much better explained by a broken drive belt, with a cut mark halfway through it. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Title Card:
America. 2023. Unemployment is below 5%. Crime is virtually non-existent while every year fewer and fewer people live below the poverty line. All thanks to...
Title Card:
The Purge: anarchy.
See more »
My Twilight Dream (Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 in E flat major)
Written by Frédéric Chopin
Performed by Piano Lounge Players
Courtesy of Cleopatra Records See more »
A mysterious man (Frank Grillo) comes to the aid of a husband-wife and mother-daughter who find themselves in the streets with the annual purge begins. The man agrees to take the four to safety but there's something that has him out for his own gain. THE PURGE: ANARCHY is certainly better than the first film but when all is said and done, that really doesn't mean too much. As with the first film, this sequel has some interesting ideas but sadly the screenplay by writer-director James DeMonaco just has too many unanswered questions and in fact I'd say the entire film is rather sloppy. It seems there's never any clear idea of what anyone is trying to do. At times we're just treated to graphic violence. At other times there's a political commentary going on and I think this is where the film just gets a bit too laughable. In fact, the rich vs. poor angle just doesn't work at all and in fact it had me rolling my eyes several times. Another problem is that we really don't care about any of the five characters so there's never any tension to whether they live or die. If you can't connect with the characters then there's really no point to anything we're watching. This film pretty much turns out to be a knock off of a DEATH WISH type of film but I'll at least give it some credit for trying something a tad bit different than the original movie. The producers simply could have given us a remake of the first but instead they did do something different. The performances are decent for the most part but Grillo's "silent" performance can't match someone like Bronson. Still, THE PURGE: ANARCHY certainly isn't the worst movie out there but perhaps the third time will be the charm.
21 of 39 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
The Purge: Anarchy (2014)
** (out of 4)
A mysterious man (Frank Grillo) comes to the aid of a husband-wife and mother-daughter who find themselves in the streets with the annual purge begins. The man agrees to take the four to safety but there's something that has him out for his own gain. THE PURGE: ANARCHY is certainly better than the first film but when all is said and done, that really doesn't mean too much. As with the first film, this sequel has some interesting ideas but sadly the screenplay by writer-director James DeMonaco just has too many unanswered questions and in fact I'd say the entire film is rather sloppy. It seems there's never any clear idea of what anyone is trying to do. At times we're just treated to graphic violence. At other times there's a political commentary going on and I think this is where the film just gets a bit too laughable. In fact, the rich vs. poor angle just doesn't work at all and in fact it had me rolling my eyes several times. Another problem is that we really don't care about any of the five characters so there's never any tension to whether they live or die. If you can't connect with the characters then there's really no point to anything we're watching. This film pretty much turns out to be a knock off of a DEATH WISH type of film but I'll at least give it some credit for trying something a tad bit different than the original movie. The producers simply could have given us a remake of the first but instead they did do something different. The performances are decent for the most part but Grillo's "silent" performance can't match someone like Bronson. Still, THE PURGE: ANARCHY certainly isn't the worst movie out there but perhaps the third time will be the charm.