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The First Purge (Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital HD) Review
Loading...Directed by: Gerald McMurray
Written by: James DeMonaco
Starring:
Y’lan Noel – Dmitri
Lex Scott Davis – Nya
Joivan Wade – Isaiah
Mugga – Dolores
Christian Robinson – Capital A
Lauren Velez – Luisa
Kristen Solis – Selina
Marisa Tomei – Dr. May Updale
Patch Darragh – Arlo Sabian
Maria Rivera – Anna
Chyna Layne – Elsa
Siya – Blaise
Melonie Diaz – Juani
Mo McRae – 7 & 7
Steve Harris – Freddy
Rotimi Paul – Skeletor
Domestic Gross: $69,086,325
Worldwide Gross: $135,886,325
DVD Release Date: October 2nd, 2018
Running Time: 98 minutes
Rated R for strong disturbing violence throughout, pervasive language, some sexuality and drug use.
The Purge franchise has, against all odds, carved itself out a rather unique niche in genre film. Few imagined in 2012 that James DeMonaco’s home invasion thriller set in a dystopian United States would start any kind of franchise. But here we are, five years later, and DeMonaco has brought us four films of stylized action infused with horror elements and political themes. Since its inception, The Purge has survived by constantly morphing stylistically from home invasion, to crime thriller, to political action-horror. It’s a fascinating franchise even for people who aren’t fans to dissect and examine. And for those who do enjoy it, it’s been a pleasant surprise to see the film’s get a little better each time.
With The First Purge, DeMonaco took the biggest chance yet. There are few sequels, particularly among horror, more tiresome than the prequel. Origin stories are always dicey, threatening to take away the mystique in favor of exposition that doesn’t add up. It’s a gamble that paid off. The First Purge has gone on to become the most successful film worldwide of the franchise, and has earned some of the series’ best reviews as well. With October (and a midterm election) arriving, it seems like the perfect time for Universal to bring the film to home video, inviting fans who missed the movie in theaters to check it out on the various home-viewing platforms.
The Movie
The film travels back to the time before any of the events in the previous films, showing us the beginning of how The Purge came about. In the midst of a crisis-stricken United States, the New Founding Fathers of America have taken control of the country and are instituting a grand experiment on Staten Island in New York City. Those who participate in behavioral scientist May Updale’s (Tomei) night of debauchery and crime will be compensated for letting their ids run and play without consequences, and no one is required to stay.
However, not everyone can or will leave, and that gives us our cast. There’s Dmitri (Noel), a drug dealer who doesn’t trust the Experiment’s motives and hopes to steer clear of the events while protecting his business. His ex-girlfriend Nya (Davis) is an activist trying to speak out against the Experiment. And her younger brother Isaiah (Wade) is caught in the middle of the two. There’s also Luisa (Velez), who is trying to take care of her daughter (Solis), and the comic relief in Dolores (Mugga), the quippy neighbor.
As the Purge progresses throughout the night, the group must — individually and together — survive against gangs, military groups, and a drug-addled face-scarred monster who goes by Skeletor (Paul). That goal is complicated, of course, when the NFFA have their own objectives…ones that don’t have provisions for survivors of the first grand Experiment.
For The First Purge, franchise creator James DeMonaco is back to write the script but has left directing duties to Gerald McMurray. DeMonaco’s screenplay is perhaps the least subtle of the Purges as a political allegory. However, it is also the most grounded. McMurray, who broke out with 2017’s Burning Sands, eschews some of the day-glo madness of the past couple of films in favor of more subtle touches. The director provides a welcome change to the franchise after a sequel that felt somewhat redundant. He tackles the social aspects of DeMonaco’s script from a different, more personal level that gives them extra impact.
That’s aided by the fact that, with only the script to worry about, DeMonaco has made some characters that could potentially be worth rooting for. Noel, Davis, and Wade in particular shine as the three lead protagonists. They’re not incredibly deep characters, but they feel sympathetic in a way that past Purge characters didn’t quite hit. And they have a hell of a villain in Paul’s Skeletor. Turning his acting up to eleven, Paul moves through the film like an emaciated beast, stalking his prey. It’s a breakout performance that allows us to get behind the heroes in a way we otherwise might not. The only flaw among the cast is that Marisa Tomei is criminally underused as the architect of the Experiment, making her role seem a bit superfluous despite Tomei’s best efforts.
That’s not to say that the film isn’t without its fair share of outlandishness, though. DeMonaco wouldn’t be making a Purge film if he wasn’t writing with all the subtlety of a freight train. The political themes are piled on thicker than ever, and they can get a bit exhausting. In the current hyper-partisan climate, it’s hard to escape political rancor. The First Purge seems to want to let its audience do its own purge, but it goes for the obvious jokes a bit too often. Scenes of killers in KKK outfits driving through a predominately person of color neighborhood in blood-spattered hoods fits the film’s themes, sure. But it also hits a bit close to home. When, at one point, Davis is attacked by a man who seems to have some rather rapey plans, she uses a line directly inspired from the infamous Access Hollywood tape. There’s toeing the line of allegory, and there’s crossing it. At times, DeMonaco seems happy to pole vault over it.
But fortunately, even in some of the most obvious moments, McMurray is able to pull it back down. More than any other film in the franchise, this feels like a modernized throwback to the John Carpenter B-movie classics. The violence is visceral and the moral is very much in your face, but the balance between message and entertainment generally walks the line well. The director has a keen eye for action set-ups, to boot. When the third act moves from the streets of Staten Island to an apartment complex, McMurray ramps up the tension and claustrophobia for an arc reminiscent of The Raid. It’s not on that level, but it acquits itself well.
The problem with prequels comes with the fact that we already know what’s happened. In the end, it’s not a spoiler to say that The Purge continues beyond this experiment. Many of us have seen the other three films, after all. But by giving us characters we can appreciate, there are still stakes and things do feel like they matter in the way a lesser prequel might not manage. The First Purge is far from a perfect origin story, but it gets the job done and even adds something interesting to this franchise. That’s something it deserves credit for.
Film Rating: 7.0
The Video/Audio
The audio and visual experience of The First Purge is delivered on the various home video platforms in this set with all the slick technical specifications that Universal and other movie studios have perfected since the arrival of DVD, Blu-Ray, and then streaming.
The film is presented in the original 2.39:1 aspect ratio with a 1080p encoding that looks great. This is essential for a film that largely takes place in the dark. Blacks could get fuzzy and bleed over, image clarity could suffer — there are a lot of ways that these films can go wrong. Fortunately, that’s not the case. The picture is sharp at all times, with clear delineation and colors looking fleshed out throughout. Skin tones look natural, which provides a nice contrast with the demonic eye glow for those Purgers wearing contact cameras in the movie. The bright flashes of explosions and fire that pop up don’t wash out the rest of the image either. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment did a laudable job bringing this to TV screens.
Likewise, the audio is quite nice. Dialogue is leveled well on the DTS:X immersive audio track and the DTS–HD Master Audio 7.1 track, with ambient sounds making stellar use of the various channels and speakers. The gunshots resonate sharply, explosions roar and the soundtrack is mixed in a way that never overwhelms what the audience needs to hear. There are additionally DTS 5.1 audio tracks in Spanish and French-Canadian, with subtitles in English SDH, French, and Spanish.
Video/Audio Rating: 8.5
Special Features
• Deleted Scene (1:47): The set includes a deleted scene among the special features that takes place just before things kick into full-on action mode. It’s one I actually would have liked to see in the film, as it provides a little bit of narrative connection to a late-breaking plot moment involving Skeletor. It’s a scene that people who liked the film will certainly want to see.
• A Radical Experiment (4:57): “A Radical Experiment” is the longest of the three featurettes on the Blu-Ray/DVD set. It features interviews with producer Jason Blum, McMurray, and cast members discussing the legacy of the franchise and the film’s political overtones. Davis makes the point that the film’s horror is less in the violence than in the idea that the film’s events could one day become reality. There’s talk about the backstory and the setting of Park Hill, Staten Island, as well as the prequel aspect. It’s a solid piece that doesn’t offer anything revolutionary, but serves as a good (if short) companion piece to the film.
• Bringing The Chaos (1:24): This short featurette takes a quick look at the action and stunt work in the film. It features interview clips with stunt coordinator Hank Amos, talking about how the cast did a lot of their own stunts and doing a bit of an overview of a few of the late-act action sequences. It’s a decent little featurette for what it is, even if it does hew well within the standard electronic press kit lines.
• The Masks of The First Purge (1:22): As the title might suggest, this final featurette is an overview of the masks used by Purgers during the film. The cast and crew talk a bit about the sociopolitical aspects of some of the historical masks and the creepiness of the more bizarre ones like the “teeth mask.” It concludes with a look at the “Smilies,” who in the film are in Staten Island for a very specific reason that has nothing to do with getting their negative emotions out. This is a moderately effective piece that doesn’t overstay its welcome.
Special Features Rating: 6.5
