Review: ‘The Forever Purge’ hits hard and close to home
‘The Forever Purge’ is the radicalization of an already extremist event as an organized group of Americans seize the opportunity to violently enforce their ideals on the country.
The Purge franchise has taken a disturbing concept that centred on screen violence and terror, and gradually molded it into a social and political commentary. While the first picture remains the most visceral as a family’s home is targeted by a group of blood-thirsty participants, the latter movies connected the unrestricted brutality with political motivations and societal divides. The costumes and confrontations are still creative, but the carnage has taken a backseat so the films can hold a mirror up to the Unites States. The latest installment, The Forever Purge, is a troubling amplification of sentiments currently pervading the country and a logical extension of the lawless night.
After two terms, the New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA) regained control of the U.S. government and reinstated the annual Purge. Adela (Ana de la Reguera) and Juan (Tenoch Huerta) are Mexican migrants striving to build a new life in America after illegally escaping the cartels across the border. He’s a ranch hand for the Tucker family, where the son, Dylan (Josh Lucas), resents Juan’s presence because his father (Will Patton) values it, and Adela is doing well in a local factory. Ten months after their arrival, everyone prepares to hunker down for the Purge. The Tuckers lockdown their homestead, while Adela and Juan take refuge in a protected warehouse. After 12 hours, the siren sounds and everyone emerges with a sigh of relief. However, the self-proclaimed “Purge Purification Force” secretly organized the “Ever After Purge,” a never-ending lawlessness to eradicate all those they consider non-American.
This movie’s white supremacist tone and rise of the underclass is a stark and somewhat amplified reflection of the country’s current, real-life climate. On the one hand, the working class that feels undervalued and underpaid is attempting to overthrow the wealthy and powerful. On the other, racist extremists are annihilating all non-white Americans to recreate the country in their own twisted image. Interestingly, the NFFA do not condone this radical appropriation of their annual event, but don’t appear to have been aware of plans for the Ever After Purge and are entirely unprepared to stamp it out once it’s begun — circumstances reminiscent of the recent insurgence at the Capitol. It’s these parallels with real-life events and attitudes that make this picture more alarming than previous installments, while its hyperbole allows it to still serve as entertainment.
The film maintains good pace with regular intervals of action as the groups of varying size fend off marauders and escape their traps. Still, the narrative spends a fair amount of time getting to know the main characters so audiences can connect with them as they try to survive the anarchy overrunning the city. There’s also the whole “Don’t judge a book by its cover” lesson, though that feels like a cheesy, heavy-handed element of the narrative. Finally, the eventual Mexican standoff is unexpected and somewhat alters the direction/mood of the story, but also fits into its tale of redemption and potential healing.
Overall, this is the most pertinent installment in the franchise, while still maintaining its overzealous lust for blood and violence.
Director: Everardo Gout
Starring: Ana de la Reguera, Josh Lucas and Cassidy Freeman
