(This review may contain spoilers).
I saw the prequel to this film at the cinema as well, but I have to say, I felt this film was better than the first one.
The idea of all crime being legal for twelve hours is a really scary one that I could actually see people getting on board with in reality. I think there would be a whole lot of different attitudes towards the idea of the Purge – and I felt this film did a good job of showcasing some of the attitudes of the different characters.
The problem with dystopian fiction like this is that it’s rarely shown just why society had got to this point. In a way, I think it would benefit from an almost ‘prologue’, to show something of the collapse of normal society – or even the beginnings of propaganda, that would indicate a slow, subtle evolution to the idea of the Purge.
The first film took place mainly in one family’s house, whereas this sequel opened up to show more of a wider area affected by the Purge. One of the scariest things about this film, I felt, was one of the psychological aspects of it: the masks that some of the characters wore. Not being able to see the face of an attacker is, I feel, one of the scariest things about this film.
I felt that the actors did a particularly good job in making the characters they played sympathetic. Some of the banter made me smile, while there were other scenes that affected me emotionally. There were one or two scenes where the characters didn’t act very intelligently, but in a way, I feel that’s understandable. Logic doesn’t always play a part when you’re fleeing for your life.
I also felt that camera angles were used to good effect in this film, along with lighting. There were some scenes that were cut at, I felt, the right moments to add to the tension.
Obviously, not everyone would like this kind of film, but I felt it was interesting to see the different types of attitudes people had towards the Purge and their place in the society. I believed in the characters and cared about them. I found myself fully immersed in the film, despite the issues I mentioned earlier.
Get a copy of the first film:
Ink of Blood 