The Purge, which had ended for a time, has been re-introduced, and at a white cattle station staffed mainly by Mexican immigrants the various people lock themselves up to survive the night. The Forever Purge jumps another decade into the future, and out of the city into rural Texas. The social commentary is not complex, but it is more than audiences typically get to see. Given the political context of the USA in recent years, it has provided the Purge films with a strong satirical edge that has boosted them above the level of violent thrillers to something altogether more interesting. Of course it became clear through both the first film and its sequels that the Purge was nothing more than an excuse for America’s rich to continue exploiting its working poor, and for white racists to freely murder people of colour and immigrants.

The original Purge, released in 2013, depicted a near future USA where the Federal government had attempted to control rising crime by introducing an annual ‘Purge Night’, in which all crimes – including murder – would be legal. It is now available both online and on home video. The most recent fifth installment, The Forever Purge, at least had a COVID-19 pandemic to blame. They are not unknown here, but I have never quite shaken off the sense that they are sorely underrated.

The sequels have all failed to qualify for a theatrical release here, despite them being a lot more effective and politically relevant than most horror movies that have seen in the inside of an Australian cinema. Five films and one TV drama in, and James DeMonaco’s The Purge series still feels as if it is flying under the radar – at least here in Australia it does.

The purge rating review