Film: The Purge: Anarchy
Starring: Frank Grillo
Directed by: James DeMonaco

A year after The Purge proved audiences were still interested in home invasion horror, The Purge: Anarchy has arrived with a mishandled attempt at franchise expansion that will likely be forgotten before the end of the year.

I was incredibly excited for The Purge: Anarchy after the initial trailer debuted online at the end of 2013 because it looked like the film I had hoped the original Purge would be. It always seemed strange to me that a film with a premise about all crime being legal for twenty-four hours would choose to tell its entire story from within the confines of a single home, but after seeing Anarchy I have found a new appreciation for those who take a simpler approach to storytelling. This time, instead of witnessing one family’s struggle to survive, audiences are given three separate stories to follow: The couple with car troubles and a flawed relationship, the mother-daughter combo who need a savior in more ways than one, and the calm, tough loner on a mission who cannot resist the urge to help those he sees in need. These three stories could not be more different at first, and for what it’s worth they’re each wonderfully engaging in their own way, but about forty minutes into the film’s 110-minute runtime their paths collide and it’s basically a one-note show from that point forward: Survive the night.

Filmmaker James DeMonaco had a lot of room to work with as far as places to take this sequel were concerned, and to his credit he did a fine job of bringing the idea of chaos on city streets to life. There are flaming cars, random acts of violence, and creepy looking strangers at every turn. He also created a genuinely interesting story, which attempts to go behind the scenes of the annual purge to reveal the true motivations behind our nation’s favorite future pastime. The only problem is, the majority of cast members DeMonaco had to work with had no ability to act whatsoever. With the exception of Frank Grillo and an all too brief appearance from Michael K. Williams (The Wire, Boardwalk Empire), not a person on screen shows even the faintest hint of acting talent. It’s amateur hour at the movies like never before, only every fifteen minutes or so someone with a gun, knife, or combination of the two pops out and tries to scare everyone.

The violence in The Purge: Anarchy also leaves a lot to be desired. The sets are great, and the costume work is often second to none, but the use of CG blood and gore to emphasize various moments completely ruin the grisly realism the film works so incredibly hard to achieve. It’s poorly rendered, poorly edited corner-cutting whose presence barely makes any sense within the context of the film’s production. If Universal was willing to pour millions into sets and costumes, did they really draw the line with fake blood and require DeMonaco to use special effects instead? It feels and looks incredibly cheap.

I do have to credit DeMonaco for one thing, however, and that is the fact he takes a chance with several big plot ideas near the end of the third act that, while interesting, ultimately do not need to exist in order for his story to work. That said, the room he creates for a third film, if not third and fourth film to exist is wide open for another creative mind to enter and have a lot of thrilling, blood-soaked fun. I won’t spoil those specific points right here, but I will say that I believe we have not seen the last of Michael K. Williams.

The Purge: Anarchy makes good on the promise of the series’ premise, but the story being told is one of the most mediocre survival tales to receive a wide release in recent memory. Violence hounds will no doubt love the endless gun fights and overall creepy atmosphere of the film, which is admittedly darker and slightly more thrilling than the original, but once you move beyond the decorations you’ll find there is very little here worth writing home about, let alone seeing in the first place. Just go on living and act like this film was never released. Then, when Halloween rolls around and you’re looking for something to rent on VOD while pretending it’s completely normal to not be invited to any costume parties, you will be able to enjoy all the joys of nonstop on-screen violence from the comfort of your own home. You could also skip it entirely and save yourself a possibly wasted night. Your choice.

GRADE: C-

Review written by: James Shotwell Follow @utgjames

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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