The Purge is set nine years in the future, in a world where crime is completely legal for a single 12-hour period each year. In the film, on the designated night, a family is held hostage for harboring a fugitive being hunted by a murderous syndicate.
Writer/director James DeMonaco came up with the idea for The Purge after a road rage incident that happened while out with his wife. On that occasion, the couple was nearly killed by a reckless driver. DeMonaco recalls, “In a fit of terrible road rage I had gotten out of the car to argue with this guy, and my wife pulled me back. When we got back in the car, she turned to me and said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we all had one free one a year?’ I thought that was such a dark thing to say, especially for a doctor. But it stayed with me for a long time.”
Years later, while working in Toronto on a film, DeMonaco realized that the nightly news in Canada featured stories much less violent in nature than their counterparts on American television news. He suddenly found it eye-opening that his home country’s media covered so many more stories about violence and wondered if this abundance was uniquely American or if American viewers were just more likely to be drawn to these types of stories.
As the idea developed, DeMonaco says, “I wanted to get people talking about the violence in America. Our film has themes of class. In a way, the thought process comes from Hurricane Katrina, and the government’s response or lack of response, and how we treat the poor.”
Understandably, the question of “What if …?” occupied the thoughts of cast and crew while the movie was being made. Lena Headey (Game of Thrones), who stars as the mother of the family whose home is under siege, says of the idea that our society could go this direction, “That’s what frightens me the most. Who knows what we would do if someone came to us and said, ‘There’s going to be no consequences for your actions.’ I think we most definitely need consequences!”
The Purge is available starting October 8 on Video On Demand. Check your cable system for availability.
© 2013 Universal Studios.
Credit: Universal Pictures