The Purge Writer/Director Returning For The Sequel

By Rudie Obias | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

The PurgeThe Purge was one of the big surprise hits from this past summer. The science fiction/horror film grossed $87 million worldwide, against a mere $3 million production budget. Along with the Paranormal Activity and Insidious film series, The Purge‘s success confirmed that the film production company, Blumhouse Productions, knows how to deliver low-budget movies that are also box office hits. So it’s no surprise that the film’s writer and director will return to serve up more thrills with the sequel.

According to Variety, James DeMonaco will return to write and direct The Purge sequel for Blumhouse Productions and Universal Studios. The Purge took place in the year 2022 when all crime, including murder, theft, and rape, are legal during a 12-hour period called “The Purge.” While it’s unclear what the sequel film will be about, DeMonaco can take the film in virtually any direction because The Purge ended without setting up a sequel film.

The original Purge film starred Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Adelaide Kane, and Max Burkholder as the Sandin family. After Max takes in a homeless man who is being hunted down by upper-class college kids, the Sandin family must work together to protect their home from murderous invaders. If I could speculate, the sequel might take place the following year after the events of the original movie. It also seems that the film would follow the survivors from the first film, who are most likely advocates against the new law. If that were the case, they would be big targets for the next Purge. The new film could also follow a different family trying to survive the 12-hour period of rampant lawlessness.

The Purge mostly took place in one location, so perhaps the sequel will open up the film’s premise. It will also be interesting to see if DeMonaco will get a bigger budget to play around with after the success of the first film. Considering Blumhouse’s penchant for low-budget genre films, it’s unlikely.

I was a big fan of The Purge. I really felt that it was a very well-made home invasion movie with enough genre flair to make the film visually pleasing and exciting. While some thought the film’s premise went to waste, I feel that the film explored notions of right and wrong in a dystopian future United States. I would like to see James DeMonaco keep those themes in the sequel film, instead of exchanging them for mindless blood and carnage. The Purge currently sits with a 38% “rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a “C minus” Cinemascore.

Jason Blum (Sinister) from Blumhouse Productions will produce The Purge 2 with Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes and Sebastien Lemercier (Assault on Precinct 13). The Purge sequel is expected to start production at the end of the year, so as to take advantage of a $2.25 million California tax credit, with a possible release date for sometime in late 2014 or early 2015.