At long last, the fifth (but ) Purge movie has arrived. The Forever Purge is in theaters right now and, unlike the last film in the franchise, The First Purge, this one’s not a prequel. Instead, it's a direct sequel to 2016's The Purge: Election Year.
The franchise envisions a world in which the United States legally sanctions all crimes--including murder--for a single 12-hour period once a year as a way to keep the violent intentions of its citizens at bay. It's a simple yet ludicrous idea, but one that seems almost hauntingly prescient at times.
You might not expect there to be much to explore with an idea like this beyond a single film. But The Purge franchise has proven that's not the case. With five films and two seasons of a TV show so far, each installment series is enjoyable and easy to engage with, even if its approach to politics can sometimes feel ham-fisted.
What's the best take on The Purge, though? To figure that out, we watched The Forever Purge, then revisited the other four films and both seasons of the TV show to figure out the definitive ranking--until The Purge undoubtedly returns to theaters for another movie again in a few years. Check out the ranking below, from least to most awesome, and sound off in the comments with your thoughts.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for every entry in the Purge franchise, including The Forever Purge, which is in theaters now.
Something had to be the least awesome of the bunch, and The First Purge just happens to fill that void. This prequel to the franchise isn't bad, but goes out of its way to reinforce the idea that the Purge holiday was corrupt and born out of racism and discrimination against the poor. Had this not already been firmly established in the prior movies, it might have resonated more. By the time this was released, though (after Election Year), audiences were fully aware of what the purpose of the Purge was.
What the first season of the series did right is it showed the Purge from different points of view--former military, those willing to be purged, the elite who view the night as a legitimate holiday, and those who stand against it. By following a number of different characters whose stories intertwine, this is the first time you see the full picture of what Purge night is and it's even more horrifying.
What makes the first Purge film so effective is how simple it is. Nearly the entire thing is set inside the confines of a single home, telling the story of one family trying to survive the Purge--a night they thought they'd be impervious to thanks to their elite status and wealth. While this movie works as a standalone tale, it's clear that the ideas introduced were begging to be expanded upon.
Much like Anarchy, which we'll talk about, The Purge: Election Year further expands on the universe introduced in the first movie. However, in Election Year it does it through the lens of a presidential election when a young, upstart senator tries to win the nation's highest office and eradicate the Purge for good. That doesn't sit well with the establishment, which introduced a new rule to the Purge that makes her--and other elected officials--vulnerable to the night of mayhem.
The stakes are large enough, with the future of the country at stake, but the characters in the film connect quite as well as they do in Anarchy. Even Leo (Frank Grillo), who returns from the previous film, is less engaging.
The supposed final film in the franchise is one of the absolute best entries yet. It's set sometime after Election Year and--prepare to be shocked--the Purge is back. It's explained that the NFFA has come back into power and restarted the annual Purge. This movie heads to Texas near the border with Mexico as a larger coordinated plot unfolds. You see, there are those around the country not content with a single night of purging. Instead, they want the night to last forever, allowing these self-proclaimed "patriots" to take out those they don't approve of.
If the franchise was going to walk back the ending of the annual Purge holiday, this is certainly one of the most intriguing ways to take the stakes even higher. What shines most in the film is the direction from Everardo Gout, who breathes new life into the series and created some of the franchise's best action sequences.
The second Purge film is definitely the best in the franchise. It expands on the first movie, trading in a single house as a setting for the sprawling downtown area of Los Angeles. It also introduces a new cast of protagonists who all meet at the beginning of the proceedings then try to survive the night simply looking for shelter.
More importantly, Anarchy shed some light on the lore of the NFFA-led United States. With government-sanctioned hit squads taking to the streets to kill residents in lower-income parts of town, it drives home the ulterior motive of the Purge--ridding the elite of those they deem undesirable. What's more, this movie introduced the idea of the rich purging from the safety of their own home, paying sick and elderly people for the opportunity to slaughter them, with the money going to their families.
This may come as a surprise, but this is far and away the best installment of The Purge yet. How? It begins with the end of the annual Purge night. Instead of focussing on the violence and mayhem unleashed during the 12 hours of lawlessness, the second season of the series deals with the aftermath.
The 364 days between Purges isn't something that gets shown much in the movies, but with 10 episodes to explore that concept, Season 2 of The Purge is able to dig into the emotional, physical, and mental toll of the night and the lasting effect that unbridled violence can have on a person.
As with the first season, these episodes track numerous stories about people who have a variety of different stances on the Purge. It includes those who stand against the night, those who are dying to "feed the beast," career criminals looking for one last big score, and even NFFA employees themselves, all of whose stories intertwine at various points throughout the season.