The Ghoulish Plot: Set in a not-too-distant future America, society is thriving with a strong economy, low unemployment, and a steep drop in crime and violence, and everybody attributes it to the addition of creating a single night each year in which all crime, including murder, is legal. It’s ref

Businessman James sells home security systems intended to enable the rich to survive nights like The Purge safely locked away in their mansions while those without security systems opt to spend the night murdering and looting or running for their lives. He’s done very well for himself and has managed to talk all of his rich neighbors into splurging on the latest and greatest security so they can also spend the night safe and sound.

The night of the purge James and his family tuck themselves in and trigger their steel doors and prepare to enjoy a quiet night watching society destroy itself from their 1080p cameras mounted outside. But then a lone man runs in front of their house asking for help and James’ son lets him in, only to discover that he’s being chased by some really cool Nazis, ahem I mean Young Republican types, who insist that James send out the man or they’re coming in.

Until this I’d never seen a single second of any Purge movie, but had read that they were dumb, mean-spirited and general shock-driven gross-out movies. This one is certainly mean-spirited and a pretty thinly-veiled metaphor for racial and social issues in America, but some fairly strong performances take it a couple notches above schlocky gimmicks. I finished this one with no desire to ever see it again or watch any of the huge number of sequels, but it’s nowhere near the worst movie I’ve watched this month so far (looking at you, Hocus Pocus 2).

The Scariest Part of the Movie: with the country having adopted The Purge, everybody quickly adapts to saying it’s a great thing and good for society and it has led to really valuable outcomes, which is like saying “at least the trains ran on time” or “gas was cheaper” when supporting a shitty politician and you can feel how quietly things shift into being pretty awful.

Spookiness Factor: This movie isn’t really scary…it’s shocking and violent. Watch it with your grandma at Christmas!

Rating: 4 out of 10 Twix