The Purge: Election Year is a 2016 American social science fiction action horror film written and directed by James DeMonaco, a sequel to 2014 film The Purge: Anarchy and a third installment in The Purge series. The film stars Frank Grillo, Elizabeth Mitchell, Mykelti Williamson, Betty Gabriel, Edwin Hodge, Kyle Secor, Joseph Julian Soria and Liza Colón-Zayas. The film was released on July 1, 2016.
A prequel film titled The First Purge is scheduled to release on July 4, 2018, and will serve as a prequel to the entire series.
Plot[]
In 2022, a young Charlie Roan is forced to watch as her family is killed on Purge night. Eighteen years later, in 2040, Roan is a U.S. Senator running for President and promising to end the Purge nights. Former police sergeant Leo Barnes is now head of security for Roan. The New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA) and their candidate, Minister Edwidge Owens, view Roan as a threat and decide, for the first time since its inception, to revoke immunity on government officials during the Purge.
Watching the Senator's TV debate are deli owner Joe Dixon, his assistant Marcos, and emergency medical technician Laney Rucker. A pair of teenage girls enter the store and begin stealing, only to be stopped by Joe. The girls mock him until Laney steps in, at which point they surrender their stolen goods and leave. Joe later discovers that his insurance premiums for Purge coverage have been raised beyond his affordability. Meanwhile, more tourists visit the U.S. to join the Purge.
On the Purge night, Joe guards his store and is joined by Marcos, and together they manage to repel an attack by the teenage girls. Laney travels the city providing medical care to the wounded. Roan decides to wait out the Purge from her home rather than a secure location in order to secure the vote, and is accompanied by Barnes, Chief Couper, Eric and additional security forces. However, they are betrayed by Couper and Eric, who allow a paramilitary force led by Earl Danzinger to kill the security detail. Barnes escorts the Senator to safety, but is wounded in the process. He detonates a bomb in the house, killing Eric and Chief Couper.
Barnes and Roan attempt to seek shelter but are ambushed by a group of Russian “murder tourists” Purgers and taken captive. Before they are executed, Joe and Marcos shoot the gang dead, having seen the pair's plight from the store's rooftop. As they take shelter in Joe's store, the teenage girls return with reinforcements but are rescued by Laney, who kills the girls. The group are then ambushed by Danzinger in a helicopter, and seek refuge in an overpass where Barnes realizes they were tracked by the bullet lodged inside him, and manages to extract it as they are met by the Crips. In exchange for the group rendering medical aid to an injured Crips member's son, the gang plants the bullet elsewhere to divert the paramilitary team.
The group arrives at an underground anti-Purge hideout run by Dante Bishop. Barnes discovers that Bishop's group intends on assassinating Owens, in an effort to put an end to the Purge. A large group of paramilitary personnel arrive at the hideout looking for Bishop. Barnes and Roan escape back to the streets and meet up with Joe, Marcos and Laney, who had left the Triage Centre earlier to return to Joe's store. While fleeing the city, the ambulance is hit by Danzinger's team and Roan is pulled out before Barnes can assist. He leads the group and Bishop's team to a fortified cathedral where the NFFA plans to sacrifice her. Before Roan can be killed by the NFFA, the group arrives and cause a massive shootout that kills the congregation except Owens and NFFA loyalist Harmon James, who both escape. Owens is caught by Bishop's group who still intends on killing him but Roan, determined to beat him in the election, is able to persuade them not to. The remaining paramilitary forces arrive, killing Bishop and men. Danzinger fights Barnes, wherein the latter gains the upper hand. As Roan's group frees Owen's victims, James emerges from hiding and kills one of the victims but is shot by Joe in a crossfire, who later succumbs to his injuries.
Two months later, Marcos and Laney renovate Joe's store as they watch a television announcement declaring Roan's landslide victory. Another news report states of violent uprisings across the country from NFFA supporters in response to the election results.
Cast[]
- Frank Grillo as Leo Barnes, former LAPD Police Sergeant turned Security Chief for Charlie Roan
- Elizabeth Mitchell as Senator Charlene "Charlie" Roan, U.S. Senator/presidential candidate running on an anti-Purge platform
- Christy Coco as Young Charlie Roan
- Mykelti Williamson as Joe Dixon, a working class deli owner
- Joseph Julian Soria as Marcos Dali, Joe's Hispanic employee and close friend
- Betty Gabriel as Laney Rucker, a triage EMT and former purger "la pequeña muerte"
- Terry Serpico as Earl Danzinger, leader of a neo-Nazi paramilitary group
- Edwin Hodge as Dante Bishop, an anti-Purge resistance fighter who is now the leader from the previous Purge films
- Kyle Secor as Minister Edwidge Owens, a pastor of an NFFA-affiliated cathedral and presidential candidate
- Barry Nolan as Reporter #1
- Liza Colón-Zayas as Dawn, Laney's friend
- Ethan Phillips as Chief Couper, member of Roan's security team and mole
- Adam Cantor as Tall Eric Busmalis, member of Roan's security team and mole
- Christopher James Baker as Harmon James, an NFFA loyalist
- Jared Kemp as Rondo, a young injured purger
- Brittany Mirabilé as Kimmy, a schoolgirl purger
- Raymond J. Barry as Caleb Warrens, NFFA leader and President of the United States
- Naheem Garcia as Angel Munoz, Bishop's partner
- Roman Blat as Uncle Sam Purger, a foreigner from Russia who joined the Purge (credited as "Uncle Sam")
- David Aaron Baker as NFFA Press Secretary Thomas "Tommy" Roseland
- George Lee Miles as Irish Ike Jenkins, a frequent customer in Joe's deli
- Johnnie Mae as Mrs. Sabian, a frequent customer in Joe's deli
- Juani Feliz as Kimmy's schoolgirl purge partner
- Jamal Peters as Crips leader, the head of the Crips who asks Roan's team to help his comrade (credited as "Gang Leader with Dying Friend")
- Matt Walton as News 13 Reporter
- Kimberly Howe as Kimmy's other purger friend
- Cindy Robinson as the Purge Emergency Broadcast System announcement voice (uncredited)
About The Purge Event[]
In 2017, "The New Founding Fathers of America" have established a new totalitarian government and a police state, following economic collapse. Using the 28th amendment of the U.S Constitution, the government has established one night a year - called "The Purge", which occurs on March 21 to 22, in which all crime is legal and all police, fire, and medical emergency services remain unavailable for 12 hours from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. the next day. The only rules are that no government officials with authorization levels of 10 and higher are to be disturbed and all weapons above Class 4 (explosive devices such as grenades, rocket launchers, bazookas, etc.) are forbidden. Anyone who violates the rules of the Purge would be publicly executed by hanging. The purge has resulted in crime and unemployment rates plummeting to 1% and a strong economy. Although it is thought to be used as an act of catharsis for the U.S. populace, it is in reality used as a method of artificial population control as the unemployed poor in slum neighborhoods are usually the main targets.
Reception[]
Critical response[]
The Purge: Election Year has received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 52% based on 86 reviews and an average rating of 5.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "It isn't particularly subtle, but The Purge: Election Year's blend of potent jolts and timely themes still add up to a nastily effective diversion." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 55 out of 100 based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". On CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
Posters[]
Videos[]
The Purge Election Year - Official Trailer (HD)