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The Purge is a 2013 American horror-thriller film directed and written by James DeMonaco. The film stars Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey.
In 2022 the United States has become "a nation reborn", with crime and unemployment rates hitting an all-time low. To keep these rates low, the government has instated an annual 12-hour time period called "The Purge", during which people can vent their negative emotions because almost all crime (including murder) is legal and emergency services are suspended.
In the year 2022, the United States has come under the rule of a corporocratic cabal which, in order to maintain low unemployment and crime rates, has instituted an annual twelve-hour period during which all criminal activity, including murder, becomes legal. This annual event is known as "The Purge." The only rules during The Purge is that "Level 10" government officials must remain untouched and usage of "Class 4" weaponry and above is forbidden. During this, emergency services are suspended and all external calls are unanswered. The Purge is designed to serve as a catharsis for American citizens, giving them a chance to vent all negative emotions however they desire.
James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) is a wealthy home security developer living in a picturesque neighborhood, who has made a fortune exploiting fears of the Purge by selling security systems that turn homes into seemingly impenetrable fortresses. At home, Mary Sandin (Lena Headey) struggles with her two children: teenaged Zoey (Adelaide Kane) is dating an older boy named Henry (Tony Oller) whom her parents do not approve of, while Charlie (Max Burkholder) questions the need for the Purge. Mary speaks to her excitable neighbor, Grace Ferrin (Arija Bareikis), who explains that the neighborhood is holding a "purge party". When James arrives home, the family discusses why the Purge is an important part of society.
After dinner, Charlie fixes a remote controlled device he uses to film events around the house just as Sandin and Mary begin the process to locking down the residence. Soon afterwards, a siren wails and an automated official government announcement is broadcasted, commencing the start of the Purge; James activates the lockdown, shutting all the windows and doors. Zoey asks to be excused to her bedroom, where she finds Henry, who snuck into the house before the lockdown. Henry indicates he wishes to convince James to allow him and Zoey to continue seeing each other.
James and the family watch the events of the Purge unfold via video monitors in the lounge. However, Charlie notices a bloodied and beaten stranger (Edwin Hodge) being chased outside the house. Against the demands of his parents, Charlie disarms the security system and allows the stranger inside. While confronting the stranger, Henry also reveals himself and tries to kill James, who returns fire. In the confusion, the stranger disappears into the home, while Henry and Zoey make their way to another part of the home. Henry dies from wounds inflicted by James. James leaves the lounge in search of Zoey and the stranger.
Masked vigilantes trace the stranger to the Sandins' home and address an ultimatum to the family through the surveillance system: hand the stranger, a homeless man, within the hour or they will break into the house and murder everyone inside. Using his remote controlled device, Charlie finds the stranger and leads him to a secret hiding place, where he won't be found by his parents. Zoey inadvertently stumbles onto the hiding place and is held at gunpoint by the stranger, but is freed after a brief struggle. James and Mary tie up the stranger, who is shown wearing dog tags. James, Mary, and Charlie discuss the moral ambiguity of turning the stranger over to the vigilantes in order to save themselves.
The vigilantes successfully break into the household. The Sandins are forced into a siege to defend the house, culminating in Sandin killing the intruders. The leader of the group (Rhys Wakefield) stabs James with a machete but, in turn, is shot and killed by Zoey as the neighbors finish off the remaining intruders. However, they reveal they are there to kill the Sandins; in the theme of the Purge, since the opportunity presented itself, they decided to kill the Sandins in order to vent their hatred for the family's newfound wealth. They round up the remaining family members, including a dying James.
Just as the neighbors are about to kill the family, the bloodied stranger comes to the Sandins' aid, killing one of them. Mary decides to not let the Purge continue and decides to spare her neighbors, as too many people have died in the night. Grace makes one final attempt to kill Mary, but Mary deflects the attack and smashes her face into a glass table. With Grace heavily bleeding out of a broken nose, the surviving neighbors leave the house and walk away as the Sandin family watch the emergency services arrive outside of their home.
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