[wpdevart_youtube]UL29y0ah92w[/wpdevart_youtube]The First Purge ***
Dir: Gerard McMurray (15 90 mins )
The Purge seemed like an outlandish horror scenario initially, a night when all crime is legalised, even murder, in order to keep the populace under control has become far more uncomfortably relevant over successive years. With the rise of Trump and neo-fascism, an upsurge in racist attacks, individuals looking for an excuse to attack whomever they disagree with on a whim, the satire has turned queasily real. The films of course are pure schlock, preaching anti-violence whilst reveling in it and The First Purge, the fourth film in the franchise is no different. This outing follows three people living in Staten Island on the night of the First Purge, the brain child of a psychologist played by Marisa Tomei. Y’Lan Noel plays a local kingpin Dimitri, trying to protect his community, whose path crosses with activist Nya, played by Lex Scott Davis, who is searching for her brother. An impoverished black neighbourhood is targeted, people are murdered left, right and centre, the worst elements of human nature are exploited and there’s a strain of discomfiting nihilism about it all. It’s briskly efficient but very uncomfortable in the wake of the horrific reality of the world today. (KS)
Opens July 4