By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
I will be the first to admit that the “Purge” movies have always been my little, guilty pleasure. Despite, the brutal violence, and torture, I’m locked into the outlandish concept of a “Purge” night, where for 12 hours all crime in America is LEGAL.
In these movies, “Purge Night” was created by The New Founding Fathers of America. The night is sort of a cathartic release for people with pent-up emotions and who are fed up with a deteriorating society and need someone to blame. “Purging” also means you can beat, torture, rape and even kill with no consequences for your actions if it’s done within the timeframe. For those who don’t partake in the mayhem, they know to lock up, mount up and stay indoors and hope they get through the “Purge” alive.
Now, along comes
“The Forever Purge,” the fifth and supposedly final movie from the blockbuster Blumhouse series. “The Forever Purge” is the follow-up to 2018’s “The First Purge.” This one is still bloody and violent, but it’s also eerily timely considering where we are in America society today. Illegal immigration, crime and homelessness is out of control. Racism and racist acts of violence dominate the news and militias are ready to fight against a government they believe have wronged them.
It’s a mad, mad world.
As we saw in the previous “Purge” movies, the underlying reason for “Purge Night” is to get rid of the undesirable and poor people who are predominately people of color.
However, in “The Forever Purge” there’s an interesting twist.
Adela (Ana de la Reguera, “Army of the Dead” and TV’s “Ana”) and her husband, Juan (Tenoch Huerta, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”) are undocumented immigrants living a comfortable life in Texas. Adela works in a meat shop and Juan is quite the cowboy and ranch hand at the exclusive Tucker family ranch run by big daddy Caleb (Will Patton, TV’s “Outer Range”). Caleb is a hardworking family man who believes in treating all his employees fairly which is why they respect him.
Caleb’s son, Dylan Tucker (a terrific Josh Lucas, “Ford v. Ferrari” and “She Dies Tomorrow”) seems to have reservations about minorities. He’s not pleased when Juan shows him up after he unsuccessfully tries to tame a wild horse. Dylan’s pregnant wife Emma Kate (TV’s “The Righteous Gemstones”) and his sister Harper (Levin Rambin, “Mank”) get along fine.
A day after surviving the Purge, the Tucker family is held hostage at gunpoint by a group of masked men who believe the Tuckers are an arrogant and rich family who care nothing about the working class. Before Juan and his work partner T.T. (Alejandro Edda, “Narcos: Mexico”) notice what’s happening and grab their guns to try and rescue the family, tragedy strikes.
The killers have decided that the “Purge” isn’t just for one night, but forever. America needs to be cleansed of people like the Tuckers too. Now, Adela and Juan insist that the rest of the Tucker family join them as they try to make it to El Paso before the wilding ensues. Adela isn’t one to play with. She’s fought against the cartels and can handle most any kind of weapon.
Screenwriter James DeMonaco, who wrote all the “Purge” movies doesn’t hold back on the bloody violence in “The Forever Purge” or the film’s anti-racism stance. If the “The Forever Purge” is indeed the final installment of this franchise, then it’s going out with a bang and a sweet cherry on top.
Look At This Trailer For
"THE FOREVER PURGE"
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays at 6:20 p.m. on radio station KFBK 93.1 FM and 1530 AM.
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), The Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC), The American Film Institute (AFI), and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
