When the first Purge, filmed on a shoestring $3 million budget, broke out at the box-office last June and made off with nearly $90 million before the end of its theatrical run, Universal and Blumhouse Productions commissioning a sequel was almost automatic. Studio heads moved quickly to get the next installment into production for release this year, likely in hopes of establishing the series as an annual, low-budget moneymaker, à la the Paranormal Activity franchise. Now, details have emerged about the sequel’s premise, and the film finally has an official title – The Purge: Anarchy.
The first film drew fire from some critics for confining its story to one household under attack by masked psychopaths. In the alternate universe of The Purge, America’s New Founding Fathers have declared a 24-hour free-for-all once a year during which all emergency services are suspended. During the event, civilians are encouraged to go out, rape, murder, loot and generally act on whatever evil thoughts they keep bottled up inside for the rest of the year. Luckily, writer-director James DeMonaco appears to have been keeping an eye on what criticisms audiences had for the first film and, accordingly, he’ll be widening the net for Anarchy.
The sequel will not feature any actors from the first film. Instead, it will take place in a city where nobody has a working security system come Purge Night. Suffice to say, things get messy, with all manner of hell breaking loose on streets and in homes. In the first film, it was implied that the New Founding Fathers were using the Purge to wipe out the homeless and impoverished, none of whom were rich enough to afford protection. Setting the sequel in an area inhabited by less wealthy individuals than those at the center of the first Purge will hopefully allow DeMonaco to properly flesh out that worrying idea.
The Purge: Anarchy will star Frank Grillo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) and also feature Michael K. Williams (The Wire), Zach Gilford (Friday Night Lights), Kiele Sanchez (The Glades), and Carmen Ejogo (Alex Cross). The film’s talented cast, coupled with that intriguing premise, should make The Purge: Anarchy more than tantalizing enough to draw in viewers of the first film. Whether the sequel will suffer for lacking the star-power of Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey remains to be seen, but I’m hopeful that it will blend social philosophy and intense action to make an even more potent film than the first.
Are you interested in checking out this horror/action sequel, or was the first Purge enough to satisfy your appetites? Let us know in the comments.
The Purge: Anarchy breaks loose on June 20, 2014.