★★★☆☆

The Purge and The Purge Anarchy are for when you feel like a video game, but don’t feel like actually playing the game yourself. The Purge even had some worthy writing, not so much in the lines, but the concept.

A family man views himself as a good guy. He makes a fortune selling home fortress systems and has more money than anyone in his neighborhood. Neighbors don masks then try to kill him and his family during the annual purge. When the sun comes up and the announcement comes over the media, all living people are supposed to forgive and forget.

Conceptually, this thumbnail sketch is a dream for the writing mind. The writing opportunities of such a premise are limitless. Create a culture where for twelve hours all crime is legal. People put on a hollow political front of being nice to everyone 364.5 days per year so they can murder everyone who ever wronged them during the purge. I dare say you won’t find many anti-gun pacifists left alive.

While many view these films as simply slash and gore thrillers for the mindless, they very deftly tap into our current cultural situation. Bankers commit trillion dollar crimes never getting close to prison. Politicians help sell Uranium mines to hostile nuclear powers without facing treason. It explores the psychological twists and pressures that build up in the human creature when forced to live in a politically correct world where the wealthy are never held accountable for their actions.

If you want to kick start your writing mind watch this movie pair. Explore how current cultural rules and society damage the human condition. This leaves us in a post apocalypse world sans the actual apocalypse.

For additional movie ideas please see list one and list two.