The Forever Purge Review: The Installments Keep Going, Why Shouldn't the Purge Itself?
The Purge franchise has seemed to always tell us something in its themes. We’ve seen racial tension touched in The First Purge, family strife in The Purge, and in the latest installment we see immigration tackled. The Forever Purge takes a look at what its America may look like if citizens continued The Purge after the most recent bloody 12 hour night.
The film opens with married couple Adela (Ana De La Reguera) and Juan (Tenoch Huerta), giving coyotes money to get them across the border from Mexico into America in search for a better life. Ten months later they seem to be on that path. Adela works in a kitchen while Juan works on the wealthy Tucker family’s ranch. The Tucker patriarch, Caleb (Will Patton), is impressed by Juan but Caleb’s son, Dylan (Josh Lucas), has issues with the hired help.
As the work day ends, preparation for The Purge begins. The Tucker family locks down in their secure home while Adela and Juan take a bus full of Mexican workers to a space that provides armed protection. This Purge isn’t about the 12 hours of mayhem though, it’s about what happens after. As Adela and Juan return to work, it becomes clear that some people are extending the annual sanctioned mayhem by continuing to kill and destroy. Thus, the survive the night films that we’ve become accustomed to seeing starts.
This installment is full of sermons and lectures on America’s malicious history of disenfranchising the poor and people of color. Colonialism and The American Dream are parts of conversations. In one scene, a swastika tattooed prisoner calls out every gun that he hears firing; he talks about the specific rhythm of the guns and calls it “American music”. It’s meant to be a creepy moment, but it rings full of authentic truth. We’re known for the fight for our 2nd amendment rights, so the film continues its analysis of who we are as Americans yet also continues its awkward handling of truth. It gives us stereotypes and archetypes to make its points.
Perhaps its most ironic moment is found in Americans running for the Mexican border in order to escape the Forever Purge. The film pays specific attention to the white Americans reliance on Mexican and Indigenous help to get across the border while being chased by white Americans who believe the country should be purged of those who don’t look like them. It’s a matching bookend to its beginning as Mexican news talks about American “Dreamers”.
Director Everardo Gout handles the action and blocking of scenes well. The film is entertaining for what it is and what you’d expect. Ana De La Reguera is a refreshing addition to women who can handle themselves in the killing fields. As her character navigates the turn of events, its evident there is much more to her than meets the eye, but it’s De La Reguera’s performance that is fun to watch. While writer/creator James DeMonaco may have written something that could have been straight from the headlines a year ago when it was supposed to be initially released (it was filmed in 2019), the film feels a bit dated.
However, you wade through its social commentary, the action and kills you’ve come to expect are there. I saw this at home and that’s just the way this film should be seen in my opinion! It’s a great streaming flick but not necessary for your first time back in theaters!
Rating: C+
