Review of The Purge: Election Year (2016) by Pipec — 03 Sep 2016

This Year, The Elections Will Purge Our Deepest Fears.

DeMonaco evolves its subversive franchise satisfactorily, the third installment of "The Purge" is concentrated in please the bloody craving of the public and the delight critical about socio-economic problems of movie critics, as well, it takes advantage of the political event shakes to the country, currently, and makes use of the popular July 4th for its pre-release.

Despite carry one theme in common, James DeMonaco has emphasized to give own personality to every film and apparently, "Election Year" goes beyond in a nuanced plot and an absorbent atmosphere; It integrates new ideas such as criminal tourism, lack of legal protection to governmental personalities and, of course, the emphasis on the political and human atmosphere.

Frank Grillo resumes his character from "Anarchy", the former sergeant, Leo Barnes, who leads the Special Security Group of the controversial presidential candidate, Charlie Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell), who proclaims and longs for the permanent suspension of the annual purge. "No one else deserves to die!", many people (usually, belonging to the less-favoured social classes - Florida -) defend and support her proposals, on the other hand, her adversaries plan to eliminate the root of the problem. They conceive a dystopian world embellished with bloody sequences of murder, nevertheless, this utopia is really close to stop being so. Roan obeys its principles and determines to spend the night of the extermination like everyone, inside of her own house, nevertheless, the protection is betrayed, so Barnes and Roan will be faced to save their lives, walking within a hell of flesh-and-blood. The Mission of Barnes: keeping alive to the senator, at the cost of his own life; The Mission of Roan: Playing clean and win the elections without the dementia from her competitors. After the 'home invasion', the film runs with intimidating and twisted sequences such as diabolical dances around hanged men in a lugubrious tree or families tied up to a car and cruelly killed with flails, a 'survival' better designed than in the previous installments.

Annually, on March 21–22, 7 p.m. – 7 a.m., any crime is legal, all health care center public is suspended until dawn. The election year brings along with the dismantling of the true aim of the apparent catharsis, liquidate to the poorest people (among them, some main actors) and absorb the capital of health insurance, pensions and others of the deceased people, illegally, enriching to "The New Founding Fathers of America". The government manipulates the minds of the weak and they camouflaged their dishonest intentions as a need to cleanse their souls, Did their souls clean with violence?

It visually striking, "Election Year" permeates visual hyperrealism, accompanied by a not-so-ingenious narrative; its potential to create the vulnerability effect that the senator feels and distressing atmospheres is provides by bright neon lights, masks with important personalities in the North American country, bizarre costumes, such as the wedding dress accompanied by the mask with saw-tooth, where reads "KISS ME", a brown bear disguise and even Abraham Lincoln's monument bathed in blood and burning in flames. Executioners celebrating the purification childishly, a muscular man soaked in blood, a extravagant decapitation through the medieval guillotine (excellent handling of lights), a parade of iconoclastic masks, gangs and redeemers theatrically represent a modest, but somewhat foolish treatment to such storyline.

For the third time, DeMonaco raises the success flag, with a rooted manichaeism and representations of foreign ethnic groups, "Election Year" explores new and dangerous areas and goes beyond than its predecessors, with marked current themes and strenuous visuals,however, it is the script, which reaches the risible, even evident in the so unusual plot. As horror movie is predictable and regularly is transform in a Eli Roth's gore, nevertheless, it works pretty well like a sociopolitical thriller film, corresponding with these dates perfectly (election period, Hollywood has it all carefully timed). This year, "The New Founding Fathers of America" are waiting for us, though, apparently, we will have to purge with fervent desires in this final year.