Given the country's overcrowded prisons, the U.S. government begins to allow 12-hour periods of time in which all illegal activity is legal. During one of these free-for-alls, a family must protect themselves from a home invasion.
Gimmicky chiller lacks the robustness and distinction needed to support its social-commentary ambitions.
– Neil Young,
Hollywood Reporter,
7 Jun 2013
rotten:
That old horror-movie standard, a homestead besieged by psychos, gets remixed with a bit of Occupy-era class-conflict satire in the disappointing future-set thriller The Purge.
– Leslie Felperin,
Variety,
7 Jun 2013
rotten:
If The Purge is as far-sighted as Network proved to be, we are in for very ugly times.
– David Thomson,
The New Republic,
10 Jun 2013
rotten:
DeMonaco clearly hopes to make a significant moral statement on the level of Shirley Jackson's literary masterpiece The Lottery. Alas, his aim at political conservatives who support the gun lobby falls flat before he can pull the trigger.
– Rex Reed,
New York Observer,
12 Jun 2013
rotten:
Writer-director James DeMonaco's The Purge fritters away its promise in lurid, frenzied violence.