The Purge is a horror movie usually watched around Halloween time. I would consider this “horror movie” more as an action movie because the movie was not scary at all.

The movie takes place in a house where we learn about this rich and perfect family. The dad of the family makes the money by designing security systems for the day of The Purge. The Purge is a day where all crime is legal for 12 hours. In the movie it is the day of The Purge and we watch the family turn on their security systems. The weird thing about this is the family acts like it’s a normal day. They pretend nothing is happening and they go about their normal routine. The son seems to be the only one actually worried about the day and the possibility they could be killed. The daughter is so relaxed and unworried that she allows her boyfriend in the house without a thought.

Still worried, the son Charlie watches the monitors for anything suspicious. He sees a man who is hurt and yelling for help. No one bothers to help so Charlie decides to lend a hand and shut off the security systems and let him in the house. The only day crime is legal, Charlie lets a stranger in the house. The guy could be a serial killer or something and he still lets him in the house. At the same time, the daughter Zoey is upstairs with her forbidden boyfriend who somehow convinces her to let him talk to her dad. As the dad, James, is yelling at Charlie for letting a stranger in the house, the boyfriend comes down the stairs and starts shooting at James for not letting him be with Zoey. James shoots back and the boyfriend is hit. Zoey carries her boyfriend up the stairs and cares for him while he dies. I don’t understand this part. Why would she still care for him when he just tried to kill her father? If it were me, I’d leave him there to die. He got what he deserved.

In the accident, the family realizes the stranger is missing and is wandering around the house. The parents start looking for Zoey to make sure the stranger doesn’t hurt her. While they look for her, they look for the intruder as well, but their house is too big and they can’t find either the daughter or the mystery man. This movie suddenly turns into a game of hide and seek in the dark, since the power is conveniently out.

Turning up empty-handed, they return to the monitors where now they see a bunch of people in their yard in creepy masks. The leader demands the stranger or he and his followers will break into the house and kill all of them. Frantically, the family is in search of the man. Charlie is the first to find him and instead of telling someone, he helps the guy hide. Charlie shows him his safe place, which is a hidden room in the back of his closet. The daughter suddenly turns up and decides to go to the safe place too. First off, why does Charlie have a safe place? If the security system really worked, he wouldn’t need the safe room. Second, how is it the safe room suddenly just comes up? Two people suddenly want to go there at the same time.

Eventually the stranger is captured and the parents start tying and duct taping him to a chair. Before they can give the man to the bad guys, Mary, the mother, suddenly has a change of heart and cannot give the man to the people so they can kill him. So they just completely forget about the guy and they leave him in the living room while they come up with a plan. James gives Charlie a gun and tells him to go hide in the basement.

The bad guys are tired of waiting so they try to get into the house. They succeed on their first try by using a truck to pull the doors off. The family must have the worst security system ever invented. What was the point of even having one if it just comes down that easily? To defend their house and family, Mary and James decide to fight. As this happens, Charlie is hiding behind a couch with his flashlight still on. This is probably one of the most obvious places to hide and it’s no surprise when he is caught and almost killed. Of course, his dad has to come and save the day and shoot the bad guy before his son is killed.

While defending the house, the dad is killed and leaves it up to his wife and kids to save their lives. Just as the mom is about to be killed, there’s a plot twist and the neighbors show up and help. They kill all the bad guys and then pretend to be friends with the family. Then the neighbors decide they want to kill Mary and the kids. Just as they’re about to die, the stranger who was still wandering around the house comes and saves the day. This was probably the most predictable ending. I will admit I did not predict the neighbors becoming bad, but I did predict the stranger would eventually turn up and help. Instead of killing the neighbors, Mary decides to let them live. I know this was supposed to be right and just, but they just tried to kill them. How could you see them for the rest of your life knowing this? I know I would feel awkward and angry every time I saw them.

When The Purge ends, everyone goes away like nothing happened. The thing I hated the most was Mary just let the stranger leave. She never got his name or asked him to live with them, since he’s apparently homeless. I know if I went through a very traumatic experience and some guy saved my life, I would not let him just walk away. I would pay him or at least ask him to stay for dinner. Instead, the stranger just walks straight out the front door and bam the movie is over. Worst ending ever.

The Purge is a good movie, but too predictable and cheesy for my taste.