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The Purge(2013)
Universal Pictures Jun 7, 2013 | Wide
A wealthy family is held hostage for harboring the target of a murderous syndicate during the Purge, a 12-hour period in which any and all crime is legal.
Releases
Original Release | Jun 7, 2013
Box Office
Results
$34,058,360
$64,473,115
$24,855,512
$89,328,627
Director & Top Cast
Technical Specifications
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital,Dolby Atmos,Dolby Surround 7.1
Aspect Ratio: 2.39 : 1
Other Details
Country of Origin: United States,France
Language: English
Showtimes
Your Location or
(U.S. Only)
Summaries
Plot Summary
- In 2022, the United States is a nation reborn ruled by the "New Founding Fathers of America." To maintain low crime and unemployment rates throughout the year, the government has instituted an annual 12-hour period called "The Purge" during which all criminal activity (including murder, theft, rape, etc.) becomes legal. The only rules during The Purge are that "Level 10" government officials must remain unharmed and usage of weaponry above "Class 4" is forbidden. The Purge is designed to act as a catharsis for the American people, so that they may vent all negative emotions however they desire.James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) is a wealthy salesman who has made a fortune selling home security systems comprising security cameras and metallic walls preventing any possible entrance that are specifically designed for The Purge. One of the neighbors, Grace, tells James's wife Mary (Lena Headey) the neighbors have been gossiping that the extension on the Sandins' house was financed by the security systems James sold them.At their heavily-fortified house, Mary struggles with their two children, Zoey (Adelaide Kane) and Charlie (Max Burkholder). Zoey is dating an older boy named Henry (Tony Oller) whom Zoey's father doesn't approve of. Zoey goes to her bedroom, where she finds Henry, who snuck into the house before the lockdown. Henry explains to Zoey he wants to convince James to bless their relationship and figured he could not be thrown out of the house during The Purge.The Purge commences after an emergency broadcast on television. James and his family watch the events of The Purge unfold via the video monitors in the lounge. After a while, Charlie is left alone in the lounge and notices a bloody stranger (Edwin Hodge), outside the house pleading for help. Charlie deactivates the security system and lets him in. James intercepts the stranger and holds him at gunpoint.Henry appears and opens fire on James, attempting to eliminate the obstacle preventing his relationship with Zoey. James fatally shoots Henry, and in the confusion the stranger escapes to hide within the house. Zoey runs off with the fatally-wounded Henry and watches him die. James then goes off in search of his daughter and the stranger.Later, a group of masked "Purgers" led by a character known as "Polite Leader" (Rhys Wakefield) arrive at their home, having found where the bloody stranger is hiding. The leader suggests that the family give them the stranger or else they'll kill everyone inside. James admits that the security system was designed to act as a deterrent, but not to withstand any number of types of aggressive assaults.Charlie finds the stranger and leads him to a secret hiding place. Zoey, seeking to also hide there, inadvertently stumbles into the stranger, who holds her at gunpoint but James pounds a vase on the stranger's head. James and Mary tie up the stranger and, to subdue him, aggravate his wounds, in preparation to deliver him to the attackers.After seeing James with Zoey, the Bloody Stranger sadly tells James to take him outside. However, the Sandins have a change of heart after realizing they are becoming essentially no different than the purgers outside. The purgers successfully break into the household and the Sandins are forced to defend themselves. One by one, James kills the purgers, but James is stabbed by the leader. Zoey, standing on the staircase, shoots and kills the leader.Suddenly, the Sandins' neighbors arrive and finish off the remaining purgers. Mary thanks them, but the neighbors reveal that they have come to kill the Sandins: since the opportunity presented itself, they decided it was their patriotic duty to kill the Sandins in order to vent their hatred for the family's new-found wealth. Just as the neighbors are about to kill the family, the Bloody Stranger comes to the Sandins' aid. He kills Mr. Cali (Tom Yi) with his handgun and threatens to kill the remaining neighbors if they don't let the Sandins go, which they do.Mary decides to spare her neighbors, as too many people have died during the night and to not allow them the pleasure of not having to live with the Sandins. Grace tries to grab Mary's gun to shoot her, but Mary deflects the attack and hits Grace with the butt of her gun and smashes her face into a glass table. The surviving neighbors and the stranger leave the house and walk away as sirens outside start blaring again, signaling the end of the Purge. The Sandin family watches the emergency services arrive outside their home.During the credits, there is audio from television broadcasts stating that this Purge was the most successful due to the record high number of murders. The broadcast also features analysis and interviews that show growing discontent and shock by the American public at the increasing level of depravity with each subsequent Purge. Despite this, the Purge will recur as normal next year.
Storyline
- In an America wracked by crime and overcrowded prisons, the government has sanctioned an annual 12-hour period in which any and all criminal activity-including murder-becomes legal. The police can't be called. Hospitals suspend help. It's one night when the citizenry regulates itself without thought of punishment. On this night plagued by violence and an epidemic of crime, one family wrestles with the decision of who they will become when a stranger comes knocking. When an intruder breaks into James Sandin's (Ethan Hawke) gated community during the yearly lockdown, he begins a sequence of events that threatens to tear a family apart. Now, it is up to James, his wife, Mary (Lena Headey), and their kids to make it through the night without turning into the monsters from whom they hide. — Universal Pictures In 2022, the United States of America celebrates once a year "The Purge", a 12-hour period when any crime is allowed including murder. The result is economical growth and a society free of homeless, sick and unproductive persons. James Sandin is a successful salesman that sells security systems for houses. He lives with his wife Mary and his teenage son Charlie and daughter Zoey in a fancy house in the suburb. During the purge, James seals his house and plans to watch a movie with his family. However, Charlie sees a stranger fleeing from a group that is hunting him down and he disarms the security device and lets the man in. But the leader of the group gives an ultimatum to James: if he does not deliver the man to the group, they would kill the whole family. Now James has to find where the man is hidden and decide his fate. — Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil By 2022, an American governmental decision has been made, which says that all kinds of crimes including murders are legal for a period of 12 hours yearly. The aim of it is to let people get rid of their hatred by legalizing crimes, and then to decrease the rate of crime in the rest of the year, and to maintain a high economic level in US by taking out poor people lives and to give the priority for the high-class people to live. — om-ar-461-25129 In the not-too-distant future, rampant crime and prison overcrowding have inspired the U.S. government to implement a unique solution to restore the peace: Each year, for a 12-hour period, any and all crime becomes permissible as police put their jobs on hold, and hospitals close their doors. It's called the Purge, and remarkably, the annual event leads to drastically reduced crime and record-low unemployment levels throughout the rest of the year. But this year, as suburban parents James (Ethan Hawke) and Mary (Lena Headey) place their home on lock-down for the annual event, a desperate man finds his way into their neighborhood while fleeing a sadistic gang of masked killers. In a moment of compassion, James and Mary's adolescent son (Max Burkholder) unlocks the door, offering sanctuary to the frightened stranger. Unfortunately for the entire family, that act of kindness may also be their very last, because now the killers who were pursuing the man have surrounded the house, and have vowed to kill everyone inside unless they are willingly given the man they are hunting within an hour. As the clock begins to tick, the family face a difficult dilemma -- do they sacrifice the life of a stranger in hopes of saving themselves, or attempt to stand their ground until the Purge expires?.