Click here to copy URL

The First Purge

2018

Gerard McMurray

Y'lan Noel, Lex Scott Davis, Joivan Wade, Lauren Vélez ...

4.5

9,089

Thriller. Horror. Action Behind every tradition lies a revolution. Next Independence Day, witness the rise of our country’s 12 hours of annual lawlessness. Welcome to the movement that began as a simple experiment: The First Purge. To push the crime rate below one percent for the rest of the year, the New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA) test a sociological theory that vents aggression for one night in one isolated community. But when the violence of ... [+]

	Media	Author	Review
		Owen Gleiberman Variety	"[It] manages to pack a timely punch (...) 'The First Purge' is a slipshod dystopian pulp comic book rooted in gangbanger clichés"
		David Fear Rolling Stone	"[DeMonaco and McMurray have] figured out that watching a black action hero gun down killers in Klan hoods is one hell of a cathartic image to watch onscreen in 2018 (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		John DeFore The Hollywood Reporter	"[It] fails to establish a persuasive connection to our own moment in time (...) [James DeMonaco] appears to be running out of ideas for the franchise"
		Eric Kohn IndieWire	"[It] is a highlight of the franchise (...) Trump may be tough to parody, but 'The First Purge' transforms his presidency into a bonafide horror movie for people of color"
		Jeannette Catsoulis The New York Times	"'The First Purge' is firmly committed to the power of resistance"
		Benjamin Lee The Guardian	"An unpleasant, visceral assault with uneven results (...) The script is riddled with hopelessly on-the-nose dialogue (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"
		William Bibbiani The Wrap	"As the nation skids toward totalitarianism, 'The Purge' franchise grows ever more plausible (...) It’s a severe and potent political allegory"
		Scott Mendelson Forbes	"[The confrontations have] a genuine entertainment value (...) [It] plays like a more coherent feature than 'Election Year'"
		Nick Romano IGN	"'The First Purge' mines the anger and the harrowing events of the Trump era with mediocre results."
		Henry Stewart Slant	"Gerard McMurray delivers an often artful and rousing action film that's also deeply engaged with contemporary politics and social issues (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"
		Inkoo Kang Slate	"'The First Purge' largely succeeds in capturing the bewilderment many of us are feeling about America these days (...) [It] is powerful but its articulation is careless."
		Chris Coffel Bloody Disgusting	"A fun ride. It’s incredibly violent and full of over-the-top action (...) If you’ve enjoyed the series up to this point, you’ll likely enjoy this one too.(…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		Todd Gilchrist Bloody Disgusting	"Another Undercooked Film With Nothing to Say"

Return to movie

We encourage you to check the reviews' original sources. Intellectual property rights of these reviews belong to their authors and/or the correspondent media from which they have been extracted. If you'd like to help us to add more reviews to your favorite movies, just send us a message.