'The First Purge' Review: Purging Gets More Political

Like the characters in the films, it's hard for some moviegoers to believe that The Purge has lasted as long as it has, which includes this new prequel and fourth film in the franchise, The First Purge. However, unlike so many other prequels, The First Purge finds space to tell a thrilling and novel story; however, some half-cooked metaphors for today's volatile socio-political climate drag down what could've been a simple and viscerally satisfying action-horror flick.

The story goes back to 2014, when America's dark new political party, the New Founding Fathers, propose a radical social experiment: they will isolate Staten Island for one night, allowing all the residents there to commit whatever violent act they want (including murder) without any legal repercussions. The experiment throws the citizenry into disarray, as politically conscious residents like Nya (Lex Scott Davis) recognize "The Experiment" as an economic and racially biased political tool, while many impoverished residents are willing to risk their lives by participating, in exchange for the government's monetary stipend. Caught in the middle of all this is Nya's former boyfriend, drug kingpin Dmitri (Y'lan Noel), who is conscious enough to recognize that the Purge is bad for the people of his neighborhood, and dangerous for his business. And when mysterious killers begin appearing on Staten Island during Purge night, all of Dmitri's worst fears start to prove true.

The First Purge was written by series creator James DeMonaco, but this latest installment is helmed by Gearard McMurray, who directed last year's fraternity-hazing drama Burning Sands for Netflix. With The First Purge, McMurray proves to be a mixed bag of talent; there are some really strong moments of what I would dub here as "socio-horror," but also a lot of cheap gimmicks that distract from and weaken both the narrative and horror movie appeal.

The prequel starts off well enough, with "confessional booth" sequences of various Staten Island residents interviewing with government officials to participate in "The Experiment" -- a deft way of invoking a lot of powerful commentary on the extreme amount of societal angst that is now part of our everyday reality. A lot of shots in the first act are well-chosen and smart in their subtext of real-world parallels, making "the horror" a visceral and palpable extension of where we are now (which is, disturbingly, not that far from where the movie's events pick up). However, once the iconic sirens sound off, and night falls, a lot of the powerful socio-political commentary falls away, and what we're left with is another hokey B-movie slasher film that never regains the full power it started with. Instead, what we get are some cheap gimmicks like neon contact lenses that make all the Purge participants look extra creepy just for the sake of it, while "style" is found in some generic and derivative slow-motion sequences, set to what is admittedly a soundtrack of booming "trap rap" anthems.

Luckily for the film, the cast is filled with some strong up-and-comers, who do well fleshing out their characters dimensions, even if the script from DeMonaco doesn't do much more than barely outline who they are. Lex Scott Davis (Training Day TV series) is the most compelling and dynamic character as Nya, with all the charisma and wit of a young Taraji P. Henson. On the other side, HBO's Insecure star Y'lan Noel dutifully fulfills the "John McClain" role of reluctant man of action who finds himself in a storm of violence he never wanted part of. Noel's Dmitri nails it in the "cool" factor, but his status as ruthless drug kingpin never quite earns the redemptive arc it's supposed to follow, while the script only implies how this ghetto king also has top-level military strategy, combat, and martial arts skills, which result in some very impressive and brutal action sequences.

The First Purge also comes saddled with a bloated lineup of supporting characters. Some of them (like Nya's two neighbors Dolores and Luisa) are just thin devices for dramatic indulgence or comedic relief; others (like Nya's brother Isaiah, or local drug addict boogeyman, "Skeletor") are supposed to embody important arcs that just fizzle out halfway through; and other characters who seem so cool at the outset (like Dmitri's top lieutenants) get lost or forgotten so abruptly that it's a big letdown for the audience. Lost somewhere in this mix is Marisa Tomei as Purge creator Dr. Updale, who looks like she's sleepwalking through every scene, just hoping for that paycheck at the end. No reason at all for an Oscar-winning actress to be in this role.

Finally, The First Purge will no doubt catch flak for being the most overtly political film in the series so far, but even that easy layup gets sloppy. Ignoring all of the anachronistic references to Trump-era America which didn't exist when The Purge series was first conceived, the third act of the film goes so heavily on-the-nose to its references to white nationalism and racism, while similarly confusing these issues and so many others with conflicting narrative and thematic angles. Without dropping spoilers, the role of military service, drug dealing, and violent racial extremism get conflated in ways that it's not clear the filmmakers themselves understood or properly separated them. Sure, it's good on a visceral level when a killer in a KKK uniform (whether real or pantomimed) is throttled to death by a black man proclaiming "Get the F- out of my neighborhood!" but any deeper examination of such moments turn up some immediate gaps in both logic and message.

In the end, The First Purge is probably exactly what you'd expect of the fourth Purge, in a series that started off as B-movie horror with a thin metaphorical framework. However, thanks to how outlandish real-life society and politics seems to be getting by the day, there's enough catharsis in this prequel film to certainly make a lot of viewers feel as though they themselves are "purging" something by going to see it.

CREDITS ALERT: Be sure to stick around during the credits for two mid-credits scenes -- including one that teases what's next for the franchise.

The First Purge is now in theaters. It is 1 hour and 37 minutes long, and Rated R for strong disturbing violence throughout, pervasive language, some sexuality and drug use.

Rating (out of 5): ⭐️⭐️