One night a year, there are no laws. Everything is legal. Including murder.
In the first “Purge”* movie, we follow a family as they hide out in their panic room like home. But the outside manages to get inside and that is where things go awry.
“Purge: Anarchy”, the second installment, broadens its scope a little by including one of the bad guys from “Captain America: Winter Soldier”, and sweetens the metaphorical pot a bit by making reference to the plot mainstays of Revenge and Just Desserts.
They both made money on modest budgets and you know what that means. A whole bunch of sequels with diminishing returns. So, not counting the Saturday morning children’s cartoon version, what can we expect from the continuing Purginess of the annual Purge?
The Purge 3 – Insider Trading (Money Never Sleeps)
Starring Charlie Sheen in a cameo, this follows an investment banker who takes the night of no laws to short sell a bunch of stocks, have room service delivery, watch some TV, and look out safely over the burning city. There is also a Jacuzzi scene.
The Purge 4 – Night of the Broken Hearts Revenge
Ethan Hawke returns as James Sandin in the iconic role he created in the first “Purge”. It starts with him breaking up with Mary, originally played by Lena Heady in the first movie, but here portrayed by Emilia Clarke. Mary comes after him with a vengeance for breaking her heart and making the huge mistake of doing it on the Purge night. After much bloodshed and violence, they end up back together and more in love than ever. And then it is revealed that it is all a prequel and this was the first Purge night.
The Purge 5 – Petty Larceny
The Purge Junior is instituted on March 20th, the day before the big Purge, from 3pm to 9pm. Anything is a go as long as no one gets hurt. Little Bobby Sandin and his friends from PS-333 Middle in LA County will be going out for the first time. Their plan is to teach the BMOC (Big Man On Campus) Mikey Anderson that he shouldn’t pick on them just because they are smaller. Their plan? Purge him of his stash of lunch money.
The Purge 6 – Executive Fiat
The rule that high level governmental employees were exempt from being targeted in the Purge is overthrown in a last minute filibuster and the door is thrown wide open. In response, the President of the Restored United States of America escapes out the back of the White House in his sporty little sports car and tries to make a break for Air Force 1. Luckily he was a pilot pre-Purge and pre-Political career. The question is, can he make it and get away before the voting masses catch up with him.
The Purge 7 – Electric Boogaloo
The cast of Step Up meet the Purge and it is a dancerific decent into Hell. Including a soundtrack co-curated by Taylor Swift and Rob Zombie, dance choreography by Julianne Hough, gore effects by Tom Savini, and a special guest starring appearance by Jean Claude Van Damme, the annual night of violence against poor people gets turned on its head. And don’t forget the roller skates. So many roller skates. With wheels sharpened into cutting blades.
The Purge 8 – Behind the Music
A very special look back over all of the installments to date, produced by MTV. It contains a lot of scenes of quickly edited clips from the earlier flicks with music of semi-popular Alternative and College bands playing too loudly in the background, some behind the scenes scoops, a reunion of the stars from every movie, and it ends with a big free for all in the Purge Thuderdome ™. MTV VJ Kennedy is the ring announcer.
The Purge 9 – Activia
Really, this is the only way that something called “The Purge” could ever logically end. And it won’t be pretty. At all.
*Disclaimer: I have not seen the first two “Purge” movies, but am pretty sure I got a good handle on what they are about. Wikipedia rocks.