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IMDbPro

The First Purge

  • 20182018
  • RR
  • 1h 37m
IMDb RATING
5.2/10
65K
YOUR RATING
James DeMonaco, Gerard McMurray, and Kristen Solis in The First Purge (2018)
The film will be a prequel that will focus on the events that lead up to the very first Purge event.
Play trailer2:39
4 Videos
99+ Photos
ActionHorrorSci-Fi
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 ... Read allAmerica'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.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.
IMDb RATING
5.2/10
65K
YOUR RATING
    • Gerard McMurray
    • James DeMonaco
  • Stars
    • Y'lan Noel
    • Lex Scott Davis
    • Joivan Wade
    • Gerard McMurray
    • James DeMonaco
  • Stars
    • Y'lan Noel
    • Lex Scott Davis
    • Joivan Wade
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 599User reviews
    • 233Critic reviews
    • 54Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos4

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:39
    Watch Official Trailer
    In US Theaters July 4
    Trailer 0:31
    Watch In US Theaters July 4
    BUILD: The Social Commentary in The First Purge
    Interview 1:11
    Watch BUILD: The Social Commentary in The First Purge
    BUILD: Y'lan Noel and Lex Scott Davis on the First Purge
    Interview 0:50
    Watch BUILD: Y'lan Noel and Lex Scott Davis on the First Purge

    Photos109

    Joivan Wade and Lex Scott Davis in The First Purge (2018)
    The First Purge (2018)
    The First Purge (2018)
    The First Purge (2018)
    The First Purge (2018)
    The First Purge (2018)
    The First Purge (2018)
    The First Purge (2018)
    The First Purge (2018)
    The First Purge (2018)
    The First Purge (2018)
    The First Purge (2018)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Y'lan Noel
    Y'lan Noel
    • Dmitri
    Lex Scott Davis
    Lex Scott Davis
    • Nya
    Joivan Wade
    Joivan Wade
    • Isaiah
    Steve Harris
    Steve Harris
    • Freddy
    Mugga
    Mugga
    • Dolores
    Patch Darragh
    Patch Darragh
    • Chief of Staff - Arlo Sabian
    Marisa Tomei
    Marisa Tomei
    • The Architect - Dr. Updale
    Luna Lauren Velez
    Luna Lauren Velez
    • Luisa
    Kristen Solis
    • Selina
    Rotimi Paul
    Rotimi Paul
    • Skeletor
    Mo McRae
    Mo McRae
    • 7 & 7
    Jermel Howard
    Jermel Howard
    • Lorenzo
    Siya
    • Blaise
    Christian Robinson
    Christian Robinson
    • Capital A
    Derek Basco
    Derek Basco
    • Taz
    D.K. Bowser
    • Sharpie
    • (as DK Bowser)
    Mitchell Edwards
    Mitchell Edwards
    • Kels
    Maria Rivera
    Maria Rivera
    • Anna
      • Gerard McMurray
      • James DeMonaco
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Actor Rotimi Paul rode the New York City public subway to his audition for the role of Skeletor in full costume makeup.
    • Goofs
      (at around 50 mins) When Chief of Staff - Arlo Sabian is looking at the latest statistics, there is a graphic of a pie-chart on the screen behind him. It has segments labeled 5%, 25%, 16%, 14% and 50%. This adds up to 110%.
    • Quotes

      Dolores: It tastes like old man ass

    • Crazy credits
      SPOILER: There is a mid-credit scene featuring a press briefing expressing the success of the Purge, and how as early as next year, there could be a "nationwide Purge".
    • Connections
      Featured in Chris Stuckmann Movie Reviews: The First Purge (2018)
    • Soundtracks
      Uhohhhh
      Written by Troy Ave (as Roland Collins), David George Scott

      Performed by Troy Ave

      Courtesy of BSB Records

      Under license from EMPIRE

    User reviews599

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    A Solid if Imperfect Prequel
    Many of these IMDb users are hatin' on this movie simply because they look at that screen and don't see faces/characters/situations that they can relate to. That's fine because that's going to be true for most audiences, but by no means does that make this a bad movie. It just means this movie wasn't made for them.

    It was made for people who can relate to the obvious real-life metaphors this film hits on: financial desperation, a scarily-real governmental turn toward autocracy under-girded by racism and exploitation of the urban poor, and the unpredictable spasms of people who REALLY ARE losing it in these tumultuous times.

    The plot and story are no less solid than the simplicity of the other films: a menagerie of characters looking to survive the night, with their own agendas, despite structural forces at work against and unknown to them.

    Yet, what mass American audience wants to identify with a drug-dealer-turned-urban-Rambo in the main action hero Dmitri (Y'lan Noel)? The catharsis of all movies (but especially dystopian films because of the creepy sub-textual realism) is in getting absorbed emotionally into relatable characters. Most audiences can't relate to Dmitri or Nya (Lex Scott Davis). Those familiar with the hood can; or at least those that can imagine that perspective.

    In that sense, The First Purge veers toward Blaxploitation, and it's un-apologetic about it. Yet the sight of Neo-Nazis going door-to-door in legal extermination IS actually terrifying as real-life white supremacists emboldenment across the country is encouraged by autocratic fervor.

    As far as dystopian sci-fi goes, we're far closer to that possibility than most audiences want or can imagine. That's part of what makes this film compelling if not technically as slick as the others (which IS admittedly disappointing given a bigger budget than the last).

    The last film, Election Year began the politics of the series; with upwards of $80 million gross on a $10 million budget, a politics most audiences had little problem with.

    This film is a logical (in a prequel kind of way) next step in the obvious political turn the series took in the last film, only the perspective turns the lens primarily on the plight of the urban poor and criminally enterprising and those in power manipulating things behind the scenes. As for the hood perspective, you're not seeing "bad acting" as some users have accused. It's acting and being that doesn't give a s#!% what outsiders of the hood perspective think.

    If you want to see credibly-creepy dystopian fair that's all-too-close to home--and if you're willing to identify with life on the other side of the tracks--this movie is worth a look, but don't expect the stylistic slickness of the other films.

    The First Purge is very low-fi compared to the others, but that doesn't make it low-worth. Only those who can't wipe away their lenses for a couple of hours would think that of an otherwise solid movie.
    helpful•50
    44
    • seriousdelirious
    • Aug 10, 2018

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 4, 2018 (United States)
      • United States
      • China
      • Japan
      • Official Site (Japan)
      • English
      • French
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Buffalo, New York, USA
    • Production companies
      • Universal Pictures
      • Perfect World Pictures
      • Platinum Dunes
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 37 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Digital
      • Dolby Surround 7.1

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