America, 2022. Violent crime and unemployment have been eradicated since the introduction of the annual Purge Night: a 12-hour spree of cathartic anarchy and violence during which the well-armed rich emerge from the their gated communities to vent their frustrated anger on the underclass. When the Sandin family give a black homeless veteran refuge, the masked rich kids chasing him threaten to breach their home’s state-of-the-art security and wreak murderous havoc.
Writer-director James DeMonaco's satirical, futuristic home invasion movie lacks the plot logic and political context needed to lend substance to its central conceit. It’s hard not root for Ethan Hawke’s complacent home security salesman, his wife (Lena Headey) and their teenage kids. But the film's would-be subversive ideas about the kneejerk appeal of social violence get lost in the mix.