The First Purge is the fourth film in the popular Purge film franchise, but is set before the previous films. It goes back to the beginning, to take a look at how this national 12-hour period of lawlessness first came about. In 2014, the New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA) took advantage of the political, social and economical unrest around the country, becoming a strong third political party. Funded by the NRA, this new party was eventually get its candidate for president elected. The crime rate was still on the rise, which the NFFA attributed to the fact that people had no way to vent their pent up anger and frustration. The organization came up with a radical new idea to fix this, they designed a small scale social experiment—for a period of 12 hours, everything, including murder, would be legal on Staten Island. In theory, this one night of mayhem would serve as a means to cleanse people of their pent up desires to commit crimes. The woman behind this unusual experiment is architect Dr. Updale (Marisa Tomei, My Cousin Vinny). She will interview all of the participants before and after the experiment, to see if there are truly any psychological benefits to the deadly free-for-all. Dr. Updale provides special contact lenses with tracking devices to all Purge participants, so that those conducting the experiment can follow and report on everything that happens. She is joined in the control room by NFFA representative, Chief of Staff Arlo Sabian (Patch Darragh, Everything Sucks!, Longmire), who has his own political agenda for the experiment.
To help encourage the residents to participate, the NFFA is offering $5,000 to anyone who stays on the island for the duration of what is now being referred to as “Purge Night”. Some are excited for the event, like psychopathic drug addict Skeletor (Rotimi Paul), who can’t wait to wreak havoc. But others who live in the more impoverished areas of the city feel like they are being targeted. In effect the NFFA has monetized and incentivized murder—many residents will see the promise of money and stick around in hopes of making themselves a better life…if they manage to survive the night. Nya (Lex Scott Davis, Training Day) has been protesting the experiment without much success. She plans to spend the night holed up in a church with some friends, and sends her younger brother Isaiah (Joivan Wade) out of the city to stay safely with family. However, Isaiah has different ideas—he has stuck around in the city so that he can collect the $5K and move his sister and him out of their dumpy Parkhill Towers apartment. Isaiah is also planning to get his revenge on Skeletor, who attacked him earlier in the day without provocation…though taking on a psychopath like that is a dangerous proposition! Meanwhile, Nya’s secret boyfriend Dmitri (Y’lan Noel), the local drug kingpin, prepares to protect his assets and empire from the purgers and anyone else who seeks to take advantage of the situation.
As the Purge night alarm sounds, the mayhem begins in what is to become the first, though small-scale version, of the many nationwide events that are to come.
The First Purge is an excellent, welcome addition to the franchise. I was a bit skeptical when I first heard that The Purge would be coming back to do a prequel, but this film fits in perfectly with the rest of the franchise. It is just as entertaining and thrilling as the previous installments, and even feels a bit more grounded in reality. The film provides an interesting look at the origins of this deadly event, the political motivations and manipulations behind it, and the social class disparities and implications involved. The writers have some fun introducing aspects of the Purge that will have become synonymous with the event by the time the original film rolls around—things such as Purge parties and wearing masks to hide one’s identity, despite the legality of the evening.
Once the Purge begins, that familiar tense feeling returns. Each time a character walks the streets alone, or heads down a darkened alley, you start to wonder what deadly obstacle or psycho they will come face-to-face with. In this film there are a lot of strange masks, many of which are quite disturbing. Some are inspired by the atrocities of the past, such as the KKK or German SS soldiers, while others just look creepy AF! There is one especially tense scene where Nya gets lured into a trap by these sewer people wearing crying baby heads over their faces. In addition, all of the Purge participants have these glowing contact lenses, which helps add to the unsettling nature of the night.
Similar to the previous Purge films, we follow both those who are just trying to stay alive or protect their friends/family members, as well as the evil folks who are out to fully celebrate the Purge, and have targeted our group of innocents. This time around, the good guys include Nya, her brother, and her friends, along with Dmitri and his gang. It feels a little odd to be rooting for the drug dealer, but despite his current profession, Dmitri is one of the folks trying to do the right thing on Purge night. We are never told what caused Dmitri to turn to a life of selling drugs, but he has a strong military background, and can handle himself both with weapons and in hand-to-hand combat. This leads to some intense action sequences, including a particularly impressive fight in a stairwell.
One of those hunting our group is the incredibly creepy and over-the-top Skeletor, with his modified facial features and needles strapped to his knuckles to allow Freddy Krueger-like slashing of his enemies. The “good guys” also find themselves under attack from mysterious gang organizations that arrive in the city mid-Purge, and start systematically taking out the innocent with suspiciously military precision. Meanwhile, those back in the safety of their control room are just watching everything that happens, letting all of this carnage play out in the name of progress and making a better America.
Universal’s 4K Ultra HD release looks and sounds great. Much of the film takes place during the night, but the picture remains detailed and visible throughout. I didn’t notice any signs of black crush, and the glowing of the Purgers’ contact lenses remained defined and didn’t bleed into the darker background. The DTS:X soundtrack provides an immersive soundscape that puts the viewer into the middle of the on-screen action—whether it’s the dance-club atmosphere of a Purge party, the sound of bullets flying all around your living room during a shootout, the sound of drones overhead, or just a score that enhances the general tension of the film.
The 4K Ultra HD release comes packed in standard UHD keepcase with a slipcover, and contains an insert with a code to redeem for a 4K Movies Anywhere digital copy of the film. Both the 4K and the Blu-ray contain the same small-but-entertaining set of bonus material totaling about 9 minutes, which is comprised of a deleted scene and 3 short cast/filmmaker behind-the-scenes featurettes.
(Also, check out our interview with producer Brad Fuller & star Lex Scott Davis from the San Diego Comic-Con press room for USA Network’s The Purge TV series.)
What’s Included:
Film: (1:37:25)
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4K Ultra HD:
- 2160p / Widescreen 2.39:1
- HDR 10
- Audio: English DTS:X Master Audio, Spanish 5.1 DTS Digital Surround, French 5.1 DTS Digital Surround
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
- 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
- Audio: English DTS:X Master Audio, English DVS (Descriptive Video Service), Spanish 5.1 DTS Digital Surround, French 5.1 DTS Digital Surround
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
- 4K Digital copy redeemable via Movies Anywhere
Blu-ray:
Digital HD (for redemption deadline, see NBCUcodes.com):
Extras:
All of the bonus features can be found on both discs.
- Deleted Scene (1:47)
In this deleted/alternate scene, Skeletor surprises Nya and the others, and it’s up to Isaiah to save the day.
- A Radical Experiment (4:57)
The cast and filmmakers talk about the film’s premise and how it is relevant today, the Staten Island setting of movie, and the major characters. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with producers Jason Blum & Sébastien K. Lemercier, director Gerard McMurray, and stars Lex Scott Davis (“Nya”), Mugga (“Dolores”), Y’lan Noel (“Dmitri”), Joivan Wade (“Isaiah”), Luna Lauren Velez (“Luisa”) & Rotimi Paul (“Skeletor”).
- Bringing the Chaos (1:24)
A quick look behind the scenes at some of the film’s action sequences. Participants include stunt coordinator Hank Amos, producer Jason Blum, and stars Y’lan Noel & Lex Scott Davis.
- The Masks of The First Purge (1:22)
The cast and filmmakers talk about some of the creepy masks the purgers wear in the film, and the significance behind them. Participants include director Gerard McMurray, producer Jason Blum, and stars Mugga, Lex Scott Davis, Y’lan Noel, Patch Darragh (“Chief of Staff — Arlo Sabian”) & Kevin Carrigan (“General Smiley”).
Final Thoughts:
The First Purge is a really well done prequel, and an excellent new installment of the Purge franchise. It feels more grounded in reality than the previous films, and provides a believable look at how this annual night of mayhem first came about. In addition, we follow an interesting group of new characters as they try to survive the night, and a delightfully wicked collection of new enemies out to eliminate them. Universal’s UHD looks and sounds great, but is a little light on the bonus material. That said, this release is definitely recommended for any fans of the franchise, and should still be equally as enjoyable for folks who haven’t yet seen the other films—there is no prior knowledge of the other films required, and watching this one first won’t spoil the other films.
