The Purge: Election Year is a 2016 American dystopian action horror film written and directed by James DeMonaco and starring Frank Grillo, Elizabeth Mitchell and Mykelti Williamson. It is the sequel to 2014's The Purge: Anarchy and is the third installment in The Purge franchise.
The film was released on July 1, 2016, and grossed over $118 million, becoming the highest-grossing film of the series.
Video The Purge: Election Year
Plot
A young Charlene Roan is forced to watch her family being killed on Purge night. Eighteen years later, Roan is a U.S. Senator campaigning for the U.S. Presidency, promising to end the annual Purge nights. Former police sergeant Leo Barnes is now head of security for Roan. The New Founding Fathers of America's (NFFA) leader, Caleb Warrens and their candidate, Minister Edwidge Owens, view Roan as a threat and decide to revoke immunity on government officials during the Purge.
Watching the presidential debate are deli owner Joe Dixon, his assistant Marcos, and EMT Laney Rucker. A pair of teenage girls enter the store and shoplift, only to be cornered by Joe. The girls mock Joe until Laney intervenes, at which point they surrender their stolen goods and leave. Joe later receives a phone call stating that his insurance premiums for Purge coverage been raised beyond his affordability. Joe decides to guard his store himself, despite Marcos' and Laney's pleas not to.
On the night of the Purge, Joe guards his store and is joined by Marcos, and together they manage to repel an attack by the teenage girls. Laney and her partner Dawn patrol the city in an ambulance, providing medical care to the wounded. Roan decides to wait out the Purge from her home rather than a secure location in order to secure the vote, and is accompanied by Barnes, Chief Couper, Eric and additional security forces. However, a betrayal by Chief Couper and Eric allows a paramilitary force led by Earl Danzinger to kill the security detail and invade the house. Barnes escorts the Senator to safety, but is wounded in the process. He detonates a bomb in the house, killing Eric and Chief Couper.
Barnes and the Senator attempt to seek shelter, but are ambushed by a gang of purgers and taken captive. Before they are executed, Joe and Marcos shoot the gang dead, having seen the pair's plight from the store's rooftop. As they take shelter in the store, the teenage girls return with reinforcements. However, Laney runs over their leader and kills the remaining reinforcements. They form a team and leave for a safer hideout. The team are ambushed by Danzinger in a helicopter, and seek refuge beneath an overpass wherein Barnes realizes they were tracked by the bullet lodged inside him, and manages to extract it. After a confrontation with a large number of Crips, the team helps their leader's injured comrade. In return, the Crips plant the bullet in another area to divert the paramilitary team, whom they later eliminate.
The team arrives at an underground anti-Purge hideout run by Dante Bishop. Barnes and Roan discover that Bishop's group intend to assassinate Owens, in an effort to end the Purge. A large group of paramilitary forces arrive at the hideout looking for Bishop. Barnes and Roan escape back to the streets and meet up with Joe, Marcos and Laney, who had left the hideout earlier to return to Joe's store.
While fleeing the city, the ambulance is hit by Danzinger's team. Roan is pulled from the van by the soldiers before Barnes can assist. He leads the group and Bishop's team to a fortified cathedral where the NFFA plans to sacrifice her. Before Roan can be killed by the NFFA, the group arrives and assassinates Warrens, causing a shootout that kills the entire congregation except Owens and another NFFA loyalist, Harmon James, who escape. Owens is caught by Bishop's group who still intend on killing him but Roan manages to persuade them to spare him. The remaining paramilitary forces arrive, killing Bishop and his team. Danzinger and Barnes engage in a melee fight which ends with the former's death. As Roan and the team free the imprisoned Purge victims, James emerges and kills a released prisoner. Joe shoots him but is fatally wounded. Before dying, Joe asks Marcos to take care of his store.
Two months later, Roan wins the election in a landslide while Barnes is promoted to head of secret service. Marcos and Laney renovate Joe's store and continue to run it in his memory. A news report then states that NFFA supporters have staged violent uprisings across the country in response to election results.
Maps The Purge: Election Year
Cast
- Frank Grillo as Leo Barnes
- Elizabeth Mitchell as Senator Charlie Roan
- Christy Coco as Young Charlie Roan
- Mykelti Williamson as Joe Dixon
- Joseph Julian Soria as Marcos Dali
- Betty Gabriel as Laney Rucker
- Terry Serpico as Earl Danzinger
- Raymond J. Barry as Caleb Warrens
- Edwin Hodge as Dante Bishop
- Kyle Secor as Minister Edwidge Owens
- Brittany Mirabilé as Kimmy
- Juani Feliz as Kimmy's friend
- Kimberly Howe as Kimmy's friend
- Ethan Phillips as Chief Couper
- Cindy Robinson as Purge Announcement Voice
- Liza Colón-Zayas as Dawn
- David Aaron Baker as NFFA Press Secretary Tommy Roseland
- Christopher James Baker as Harmon James
- Roman Blat as Lead Russian Murder Tourist purger in Uncle Sam costume (credited as "Uncle Sam")
- Jamal Peters as Crips leader (credited as "Gang Leader with Dying Friend")
- J. Jewels as Political Debater
- Matt Walton as Reporter #1
Production
On October 6, 2014, it was announced that James DeMonaco would be back to write and direct the third film, while producers Sebastian Lemercier, Blumhouse Productions' Jason Blum, and Platinum Dunes partners Michael Bay, Andrew Form, and Brad Fuller, would also be back. On August 3, 2015, it was announced that Frank Grillo would return for the sequel to play Leo Barnes. On September 10, 2015, more cast was announced, including Betty Gabriel, Edwin Hodge, Kyle Secor, Joseph Julian Soria, Mykelti Williamson, and Elizabeth Mitchell.
Filming
Shooting began on September 16, 2015. Although a few scenes were filmed in Washington, D.C., most of the movie was shot in Rhode Island, both in its capital Providence, and Woonsocket.
The main streets of Woonsocket were transformed into the near-future Washington, D.C. The NFFA-captured Catholic cathedral where Owens' Purge mass takes place as well as the cathedral crypt scenes were filmed at the St. Ann's Church Complex. The Rhode Island State House stood in as the White House and its rotunda as well as some of its interiors such as the Press Room and basement were also used for filming. Numerous landmarks of both Woonsocket and Providence make cameos in the film. The Roan household was shot in another part of Woonsocket and some of the interiors were shot on a soundstage to allow more room for cameras and crew.
Music
Nathan Whitehead returned to compose the score, having done the music for the first two Purge films. The soundtrack was released on July 1, 2016, to coincide with the release of the film.
Release
Originally the film was set to be released on Monday, July 4, 2016, to coincide with the Fourth of July, but was moved to Friday, July 1. It was released in the United Kingdom on August 26.
Reception
Box office
The Purge: Election Year grossed $79.2 million in North America and $39.4 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $118.6 million, against a budget of $10 million. Deadline.com calculated the net profit of the film to be $44.8 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.
In the United States and Canada, the film opened alongside The BFG and The Legend of Tarzan, and was projected to gross around $25 million in its opening weekend. The film grossed $3.6 million from Thursday night previews, outperforming both of its predecessors (the original's $3.4 million in 2013 and The Purge: Anarchy's in $2.6 million in 2014). In its opening weekend, the film grossed $31.4 million, landing in between the $34 million debut for the first film and the $29 million opening for the second, and finished third at the box office behind Finding Dory ($41.4 million) and The Legend of Tarzan ($38.6 million). The film grossed a total of $34.8 million over its four-day July 4 holiday frame.
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 55% based on 141 reviews and an average rating of 5.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "It isn't particularly subtle, but The Purge: Election Year's blend of potent jolts and timely themes still add up to a nastily effective diversion." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 55 out of 100 based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
Prequel
In September 2016, James DeMonaco, who wrote and directed every film in the series thus far, stated that the fourth The Purge film would be a prequel to the trilogy. The film will reportedly show how the United States got to the point of accepting the Purge Night.
On February 17, 2017, James DeMonaco, the creator of the franchise, announced that a fourth installment is in development at Universal Studios. DeMonaco will write the script, while Jason Blum from Blumhouse Productions and Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, and Andrew Form from Platinum Dunes will return to produce the film with Sébastien K. Lemercier. The film is currently set for a July 4, 2018, release date.
On July 20, 2017, it was announced that Gerard McMurray will be directing the fourth film titled, The Purge: The Island.
References
External links
- Official website
- The Purge: Election Year on IMDb
- The Purge: Election Year at Box Office Mojo
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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