Spoiler alert: I'm going to (eventually) give the ending away, as well as give my thoughts on how it should have ended. But first, a brief summary of this film's backdrop:
QUOTE: [source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Purge ] :
In 2022, the United States is a nation reborn ruled by the New Founding Fathers of America. To maintain low crime and unemployment rates throughout the year, the government has installed an annual twelve-hour period called "The Purge" during which all criminal activity, including murder, becomes legal. The only rules during The Purge are that "Level 10" government officials must remain unharmed and usage of weaponry above "Class 4" is forbidden. The Purge is designed to act as a catharsis for the American people, so that they may vent all negative emotions however they desire.
:UNQUOTE.
There are additional rules: Emergency crews (hospital staff, fire fighters, police) will not respond to any calls or provide any services during the Purge, which runs from 7 PM until 7 AM on the anointed day.
We follow one particular white, wealthy, and armed family living in a gated community, which observes the Purge by locking down and waiting for the mayhem outside their doors to cease. Mr. Sandin, head of this household, makes a comfortable living selling home security devices which abound in his own home. The irony is, his own home gets broken into which he explains to his wife by saying these devices don't work absolutely in all scenarios against a determined foe.
So this movie, which takes place almost entirely within the Sandin's home, is basically a home invasion thriller.
Shortly after the Purge commences, Sandin's 12-year-old son briefly disables the security system to allow a bloodied black homeless man to take shelter from his pursuers. They aren't hot on his trail, but they're close enough to figure out that he'd taken shelter in this particular house. They demand release of their victim within an hour or else they'll break in and kill everyone.
The family argues about this victim's fate. He's was already wounded in the belly by his pursuers and his wound is aggravated when Mrs. Sandin pokes him several times with a knife to get him to stop struggling as her husband duct-tapes him to a chair. However, they decide they simply can't throw him to the wolves. Soon thereafter, the outsiders break in and the family scatters as the homeless man flees to another part of the house. Most of the rest concerns how the family manages to kill many of the intruders, though Mr. Sandin is killed by the leader of the group - wonderfully played by Rhys Wakefield.
At the end, the family is saved by a group of five neighbors who finish off the remaining intruders. But these neighbors really came to kill the Sandins. Just as that's about to happen, the homeless man appears killing one of the neighbors which causes the others to surrender. The HM offers to kill them if Mrs. Sandin "gives the word." But she decides to spare them, satisfied to hold them until the Purge ends at 7 AM after which she releases them.
The ending
As I said, the movie ended in a rather uninspired way. No, wait. I take that back. It seemed like a case of a writer wanting to sabotage his own movie, since there was a far superior and obvious way this could have turned out.
After the four neighbors are released, the HM also starts to leave. Mrs. Sandin stops him by asking, "Are you alright?" He says yes and turns to go after she thanks him. And that's it.
My reaction was, "You've got to be kidding; this guy saved your lives." As I said, the HM had a belly wound which Mrs. Sandin had poked with a knife - twice. So I dare ask, "How is he alright?" Not only that but her husband is dead and the house is a wreck on the inside mostly because of the vandalism of the intruders. And this is a very large house indeed which could easily house 3 or 4 extra people. Considering this, I offer:
Mrs. Sandin should have stopped him by saying, "Mi casa es su casa [My house is your house.]" She could have offered to let him stay - not forever but "we can talk about that later, but meanwhile, I would like to pay you to help clean this place up. After we tend to your wounds of course."
Closing thoughts
Considering its ultra low budget, this was a very good movie but could have been memorable with the change I suggested. I've seen a lot of bad movies where the actors made the difference and/or a delightful twist occurs - ideally toward the end. The actors in The Purge all did a wonderful job, but...I sure wish I knew what the hell the writer/director was thinking with his ending.
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Steven Searle, former candidate for US President (in 2008 and 2012)
Founder of The Independent Contractors' Party
"(sigh) Sometimes I think I missed my calling in life and should have gotten into film."
Contact me at bpa_cinc@yahoo.com
