The First Purge

relaease  4 Aug, 2020

To push the crime rate below one percent for the rest of the year, the New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA) test a sociological theory that vents aggression for one night in one isolated community. But when the violence of oppressors meets the rage of the marginalized, the contagion will explode from the trial-city borders and spread across the nation.

The First Purge official trailer

This Gerard McMurray drama stars Marisa Tomei, Y’Lan Noel, Lex Scott Davis, and Steve Harris in prominent roles. The film is a prequel that focusses on the events that lead up to the very first Purge.

Back in 2013, writer-director James DeMonaco brought us a twisted and uncomfortable world with the first film in the Purge franchise. Three films later, we are now set to see where it all began with the prequel to the series – The First Purg

The Purge (2013) opens in the year 2022 on the night of the fifth annual purge. The New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA) rose to power eight years ago (2014 in Purge time). They implemented the concept of the purge during which time, all crime is legal and all emergency services are suspended for 12 hours, beginning annually at 7 pm on March 21. People can get rid of all of their anger by having free rein to rape, kill, loot, and destroy as much as they can over the course of a single night. This is a means of concentrating crime and mayhem into one single night, aiming to eventually reduce the crime rate to a bare minimum. Unemployment is now below 1% and crime is almost nonexistent. The governing doctrine is prevailing, as a kind of new religion even.

Fast forward to the next year i.e. 2023 on the night of the sixth annual purge. In The Purge: Anarchy (2014), crime is at an all-time low. So is the number of people below the poverty line and unemployment is below 5%. People are sharing their thoughts about the truth of the event. The powerful and wealthy are heavily armored and guarded, while the government hires skilled individuals to weed out the poor and the disadvantaged. The government won’t have to shell out as much to assist the disadvantaged through welfare or health insurance. There’s also a visible resistance that is led by a man named Carmelo Johns (Michael K. Williams) who hijacks official state broadcasts to share his anti-Purge sentiment.

When we jump ahead to The Purge: Election Year (2016), it is now the 25th year since the NIFFA came into power. In Washington D.C, a senator named Charlie Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell) is challenging Founding Father Minister Edwidge Owens (Kyle Secor) for the presidency. The NFFA is threatened, setting out to kill her and preserve the purge. Murder tourism has also arrived where foreigners visit the U.S. to participate in the chaos of the purge.

And based on the trailers, The First Purge (2018) moves back in time to when the NFFA is freshly elected. A psychologist (Marisa Tomei) helps them carry out a social experiment – the first ever purge night. But everything gets completely out of her control as the government has its own motives. People are offered $5000 to stay during the experiment and can get an extra bonus if they actually participate. The NFFA uses all kinds of tricks to nudge the experiment into working for them.

So now that you’re all caught up, brace yourself and get ready to rewind with The First Purge!