The First Purge

Set years before the events of 2013’s The Purge, The First Purge follows a handful of bland characters as they attempt to survive the inaugural installment of the series’ deadly, free-for-all night of violence. There’s never a point at which The First Purge doesn’t come off as a missed opportunity of decidedly colossal proportions, as scripter James DeMonaco delivers a run-of-the-mill and hopelessly tedious entry that barely explores the creation and execution of the Purge – with the movie instead coming off as just another paint-by-numbers exercise in absolutely tedium. Filmmaker Gerard McMurray proves hopelessly unable at transforming any of the myriad of characters into sympathetic, three-dimensional figures, and it is, as a result, increasingly difficult to work up an ounce of interest in their ongoing (and progressively violent) exploits – with the aggressively hands-off atmosphere perpetuated and heightened by an emphasis on dimly lit and downright incoherent action set pieces. And although the picture’s been peppered with a small handful of intriguing elements (eg a gang of white supremacists uses the event to gleefully murder African Americans), The First Purge climaxes with a Raid-like final stretch that ultimately feels more desperate than anything else – which ensures that the film comes off as just another useless entry in what’s become one of this new century’s absolute worst cinematic franchises.

1/2* out of ****