The Purge: Anarchy (2014)

The Purge: Anarchy (2014)

The Purge: Anarchy is a 2014 American social science fiction action horror film directed and written by James DeMonaco. It is the sequel to the 2013 film The Purge and stars Frank Grillo, Carmen Ejogo, Zach Gilford, Kiele Sanchez, Zoë Soul, and Michael K. Williams, while Edwin Hodge reprises his role of "The Stranger" from the first movie. It was released worldwide on July 18, 2014.

The film was met with generally mixed reviews, with most critics agreeing the film was an improvement over the original, and grossed over $111 million. The movie is notable for its dramatic change over the original: while the first film was set entirely in one house, this film is set all over the Los Angeles wide area to give the notion of what usually happens during the Purge.

Storyline

A couple are driving home when their car breaks down just as the Purge commences. Meanwhile, a police sergeant goes out into the streets to get revenge on the man who killed his son, and a mother and daughter run from their home after assailants destroy it. The five people meet up as they attempt to survive the night in Los Angeles.

Plot

It is March 21, 2023, hours before the start of the annual Purge. While television programs credit the Purge for recording low unemployment and poverty levels, people across the country are preparing either to commit acts of violence or to barricade themselves indoors against the mayhem. Meanwhile, an anti-Purge resistance group intermittently hacks into television programs to broadcast their own messages that challenges the system, stating that the Purge does not cleanse aggression, but rather eliminates the poor from the population.

In futuristic Los Angeles, Eva Sanchez, a waitress, rushes home to her daughter Cali and her terminally ill father Papa Rico. As they prepare to lock down for the evening, Papa Rico slips out of the apartment and into a waiting limo. He leaves behind a note explaining that he sold himself to a wealthy family as a Purge offering in exchange for $100,000 which will be transferred to Eva's and Cali's bank accounts following the Purge.

Married couple Shane and Liz are driving to the house of Shane's sister to wait out the Purge. They stop at a market but when they return to their car, a gang of hoodlums silently taunts them. They quickly drive away, but their car dies just as the Purge commences. They discover that the gang had tampered with the car by cutting the fuel line. The gang reappears, forcing Shane and Liz to flee on foot. Elsewhere, off-duty police sergeant Leo Barnes tells his ex-wife that he must Purge for revenge, and goes out into the streets heavily armed.

Moments after the Purge commenced, Eva and Cali watch a truck pull up and disgorge heavily armed paramilitary men into the neighborhood. A drunken maintenance man, who felt slighted by Eva in the past, bursts into their apartment intending to assault them, but is killed by paramilitary men who take both Eva and Kali, to be personally purged by their leader "Big Daddy". Leo drives by, kills all of the paramilitary men, wounds Big Daddy, and rescues Eva and Kali. Returning to Leo's car, they find Shane and Liz hiding in the back seat. Leo tries to kick them out, but must take them all when Big Daddy begins firing a Gatling gun at them, though the damage disables his car within a few blocks, as armor piercing bullets were used. When Eva promises that she can get him another car at the apartment of her co-worker, Tanya, Leo agrees to take them there on foot in exchange for Tanya's car.

The five survive intense street fights against purgers, and they also notice many dead paramilitary men killed by the anti-Purge resistance. When the group reaches Tanya's apartment, Eva reveals that there is no car. Tanya's sister, Lorraine, suddenly shoots Tanya for sleeping with Lorraine's husband. As the group flees, Big Daddy, who has been tracking them through traffic cameras, arrives with more armed guards. The groups evades Big Daddy, only to be captured by the gang that had been pursuing Liz and Shane.

The gang reveals that they were not trying to kill Shane, Eva, Cali, Liz and Leo, but are transporting them to a death chamber where they are paid. They deliver the group to a theater where upper-class Purgers bid on the right to kill them. They are taken to a chamber, to be hunted for sport. The group is able to kill and drive off the Purgers, but the elite's security forces swarm the chamber, killing Shane. Anti-Purge resistance fighters, led by Carmelo and Dwayne, storm the compound, shoot the security guards to death and rescues the group, revealing a significant armed revolt. Liz chooses to stay with the resistance fighters to avenge Shane. Leo, Eva, and Cali take a rich Purger's car and leave.

Leo finally arrives at the house of Warren Grass, the man who killed Leo's son while drunk driving a year earlier. Leo attacks Grass and his wife in their bedroom. Leaving the house, Leo is shot and wounded by Big Daddy. Big Daddy reveals that the New Founding Fathers believe that the Purge is not killing off enough of the lower class and have been secretly sending out death squads to increase the body count. He informs Leo of the unwritten rule: do not save people. As Big Daddy is about to kill Leo, Grass whom Leo forgave and spared, steps out of his house and kills Big Daddy. Eva, Cali, Grass have a standoff with Big Daddy's death squad when the siren sounds to announce that the 12-hour Purge has concluded. The death squad leaves the scene, while Grass, Eva, and Cali rush Leo to the hospital as emergency services begin the clean up of the Annual Purge.

Cast

• Frank Grillo as Leo Barnes (credited as "Sergeant")
• Carmen Ejogo as Eva Sanchez
• Zach Gilford as Shane
• Kiele Sanchez as Liz
• Zoë Soul as Cali Sanchez
• Justina Machado as Tanya
• John Beasley as Papa Rico Sanchez
• Jack Conley as Big Daddy
• Noel G. as Diego
• Castulo Guerra as Barney
• Michael K. Williams as Carmelo Johns
• Edwin Hodge as Dwayne "The Stranger"
• Keith Stanfield as Young Ghoul Face
• Roberta Valderrama as Lorraine
• Brandon Keener as Warren Grass

User Review

How could a sequel to a film that was released exactly one year ago be any good? This was the question I asked myself as I tiredly sat in line pondering whether I should just go home and wait till at the very least, it's theatrical release. Especially considering the first Purge was somewhat of a let down for me. I guess it's because the first one was purely exciting and terrifying because the idea was so perverse. It was the idea that really sold the tickets, but the film itself, seemed to not deliver to the expectations.

After watching The Purge: Anarchy, it became very clear why.

In the first film, we were sold by all the trailers, which successfully put the idea in our heads, leaving us brainwashed and nightmare-ring about "what would I do?"

The first film focused on a wealthy neighborhood and a wealthy family with an unlimited supply of resources. A storyline showcasing that all the money in the world couldn't protect them from The Purge… But in all honestly, could the average horror viewer relate to that situation or anyone for that matter?

This is where the sequel comes in to blow the roof off the first film. Where the first film failed, Purge: Anarchy not only resolves, but also opens up a whole new realm of fear I had not strung together under the circumstances.

The sequel puts into perspective the idea of what the purge would look like from multiple story lines that are not only realistic and relatable but are nonstop and completely unpredictable. I was on the edge of my seat the entire film, beginning to end. Very rarely do I get scared once a movie is over, but I was a hot mess on the way home especially coming down from the adrenaline high from being visually anxious for almost 2 hours straight!

There were so many things I loved about this film. The characters were all very well written, most of which were wildcards and constantly keeping the audience guessing. I was incredibly impressed that the film knew how to be violent without being gratuitous. There were so many scenes that could have easily been bloody and gross, but they kept it conservative enough that it made you rely on your imagination, which often made the film much more horrifying in my opinion.

It's been some time since I got this excited over a film in the theater but I really can't say a single bad thing about this incredible thrill- ride. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND seeing this film ASAP! The sound of that machine gun still haunts me 2 weeks later… GO SEE IT NOW!