Directed By: James DeMonaco

Written By: James DeMonaco

Cast: Frank Grillo, Carmen Ejogo, Zach Gilford, Kiele Sanchez, Zoë Soul

Synopsis: The United States, under the ‘New Founding Fathers’, observes a holiday of extreme violence once a year called ‘The Purge’. From dusk til dawn on this day all acts of violence are legal, including murder. All citizens are encouraged to partake in the purging of their violent tendencies on this night in the belief that this purge will The Purge: Anarchycreate a more stable society the rest of the year. Many choose to lock themselves in their houses, hoping their barriers hold, none but the ‘New Founding Fathers’ are exempt from the chaos. In The Purge: Anarchy, 5 people find themselves caught out on the streets during the annual purge, and must rely on each other to survive the night.

In a rare occurrence, the sequel to a movie exceeded the original. While The Purge was a decent horror movie, if a little lackluster, The Purge: Anarchy is packed full of action, tension, and ultra-violence. The original movie was from the point of view of one upper middle class family, who lock themselves in their home and fight Purge Anarchy the richinvasion through the night. In The Purge: Anarchy, we get to experience this violent holiday through the eyes of the lower classes. 5 unfortunate people, a Mother & Daughter, a Husband & Wife on the brink of divorce, and a noble renegade, most with no intention of partaking in the annual purge, get caught out on the streets among the psychotic and homicidal.

The sequel adds new political factions that the original didn’t delve deeply into. A resistance fighting on behalf of the poor, trying to bring to light the intentions of a government of the wealthy, by the wealthy, for the wealthy, using the purge to cleanse society Purge anarchy the survivorsof the undesirable and impoverished. These new elements created a much more engaging experience for the viewer to connect to, and think about long after the movie is over. With a strong build up of anticipation for the event to begin, and pulling no punches when it comes to graphic violence once the purging is in full swing, Anarchy packs an emotional wallop. With over half of the theater holding hand to mouth, I can give this movie high marks for action/horror. Tugging on our sense of moral decency, it begs the question, would you resist or would you purge?