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IMDbPro

American Nightmare

Original title: The Purge
  • 2013
  • 12 avec avertissement
  • 1h 25m
IMDb RATING
5.8/10
253K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,992
637
Rhys Wakefield in American Nightmare (2013)
Given the country's overcrowded prisons, the U.S. government begins to allow 12-hour periods of time in which all illegal activity is legal. During one of these free-for-alls, a family must protect themselves from a home invasion.
Play trailer2:33
8 Videos
99+ Photos
Dystopian Sci-FiSlasher HorrorHorrorSci-FiThriller

A wealthy family is held hostage for harboring the target of a murderous syndicate during the Purge, a 12-hour period in which any and all crime is legal.A wealthy family is held hostage for harboring the target of a murderous syndicate during the Purge, a 12-hour period in which any and all crime is legal.A wealthy family is held hostage for harboring the target of a murderous syndicate during the Purge, a 12-hour period in which any and all crime is legal.

  • Director
    • James DeMonaco
  • Writer
    • James DeMonaco
  • Stars
    • Ethan Hawke
    • Lena Headey
    • Max Burkholder
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.8/10
    253K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    2,992
    637
    • Director
      • James DeMonaco
    • Writer
      • James DeMonaco
    • Stars
      • Ethan Hawke
      • Lena Headey
      • Max Burkholder
    • 896User reviews
    • 379Critic reviews
    • 41Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 6 nominations total

    Videos8

    Version 1
    Trailer 2:33
    Version 1
    Jason Blum: A Brief History of Blumhouse
    Clip 3:46
    Jason Blum: A Brief History of Blumhouse
    Jason Blum: A Brief History of Blumhouse
    Clip 3:46
    Jason Blum: A Brief History of Blumhouse
    The Purge: A Stranger Threatens To Enter The Sandin's Home
    Clip 0:40
    The Purge: A Stranger Threatens To Enter The Sandin's Home
    The Purge: James Tells Mary And Charlie They Are Going To Fight
    Clip 0:54
    The Purge: James Tells Mary And Charlie They Are Going To Fight
    The Purge: Charlies Asks His Parents Why They Don't Participate In The Purge
    Clip 0:45
    The Purge: Charlies Asks His Parents Why They Don't Participate In The Purge
    The Purge: James Demonaco On The Storyline
    Featurette 1:29
    The Purge: James Demonaco On The Storyline

    Photos119

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    + 114
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    Top cast28

    Edit
    Ethan Hawke
    Ethan Hawke
    • James Sandin
    Lena Headey
    Lena Headey
    • Mary Sandin
    Max Burkholder
    Max Burkholder
    • Charlie Sandin
    Adelaide Kane
    Adelaide Kane
    • Zoey Sandin
    Edwin Hodge
    Edwin Hodge
    • Bloody Stranger
    Rhys Wakefield
    Rhys Wakefield
    • Polite Leader
    Tony Oller
    Tony Oller
    • Henry
    Arija Bareikis
    Arija Bareikis
    • Mrs. Grace Ferrin
    Tom Yi
    Tom Yi
    • Mr. Cali
    Chris Mulkey
    Chris Mulkey
    • Mr. Halverson
    Tisha French
    Tisha French
    • Mrs. Halverson
    Dana Bunch
    • Mr. Ferrin
    Peter Gvozdas
    • Dr. Peter Buynak
    John Weselcouch
    • Freak Interrupting
    Alicia Vela-Bailey
    Alicia Vela-Bailey
    • Female Freak
    David Basila
    • George
    • (uncredited)
    Boima Blake
    • Freak #1
    • (uncredited)
    Nathan Clarkson
    Nathan Clarkson
    • Freak
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • James DeMonaco
    • Writer
      • James DeMonaco
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews896

    5.8252.7K
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    Featured reviews

    4WubsTheFadger

    The Purge

    Short and Simple Review by WubsTheFadger

    First off, this film could have been amazing. The plot and premise are very original and had a lot of potential. But sadly, the story is full of clichés such as stupid teenage kids, bad decisions, and clueless villains. If they had only made the film in a way that we could see multiple Purge stories, it would have been better. The ending is the probably the best part of the story.

    The acting is okay at best. Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey perform the best. Max Burkholder and Adelaide Kane play two of the most annoying, stupid, and idiotic characters I have ever laid eyes on.

    The film starts off very slow and continues to have slow pacing until the end.

    The blood and gore aspect of the film is very good. This is one of the highest points about the film.

    Pros: Very original story, the ending, good acting from Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey, and a good use of blood and gore

    Cons: Slow pacing, wasted potential with the story, annoying characters, Max Burkholder and Adelaide Kane and their terrible performance, and a lot of clichés

    Overall Rating: 4.3
    6ncollogan

    Decent

    I am a movie theatre employee, so I saw this film last night at an employee screening. Going into the movie, I was rather excited. The concept is interesting, and has never been done before. While this movie was not as scary as I had anticipated, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. The antagonists were disturbing, and the movie really shows the struggle between self-preservation and what's right. It is somewhat short, but the makers certainly do get the job done. Plenty of flashlight-and-pistol standoffs and suspenseful scenes make for a movie with an interesting plot, and good acting. The ending was a bit predictable, but did not ruin the movie in my opinion. Not the best that I've seen, but overall a decent flick.
    6SnoopyStyle

    Interesting horror premise needs to be worked out more

    It's 2022 in America. Unemployment is at 1% and crime is at an all-time low except one night every year. The law allows many forms of crime including even murder in that 12 hour period. James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) sells home security and is having his best year. He has gathered his family (Lena Headey, Max Burkholder, Adelaide Kane) to wait out the night. Things don't turn out well starting with the daughter's boyfriend. Then the son allows a vagrant to enter their house who is followed by a mob intend on killing that homeless person.

    The premise is interesting and original reminding me of Sparta and the Helots. It's certainly a good way to get into a horror movie. However there are a lot of aspects that went uninvestigated in this movie. Everybody has enemies and it's an obvious avenue to go for. For example, he's the best salesman which seems to me to be an obvious reason for other co-workers to kill him. Writer/director James DeMonaco just didn't think through all the possibilities in this world.

    The obvious fix is to make the purge be only against the poor and the helpless. There could be rules about harboring the hunted. The family lets in that homeless guy which could make them fair game. I'm willing to not harp on it but I must deduct a point for the mistake.

    When the power goes out, the darkness is not a good way to shoot a film. However when the mob gets vehicles which could light up the house, the lighting looks good. All the light and shadows provide great horror opportunities. I wish more of the movie take place in that lighting scheme.

    Another missed opportunity is the ticking clock. It could have been a great vehicle for raising the tension. Instead the movie wastes this away by sitting around to run out the clock. It's not the most compelling climax.

    It's a great original premise with loads of opportunities. With a few more tweaks, this could be a great horror franchise. It has a built-in morality play. The premise doesn't even need any one particular character to carry it either. This could run for a long time if they put in a few fixes.
    6malaysian1789

    The Purge, great concept....not so great film

    Humans have a natural instinct as predators to kill, but society forces us to repress these feelings by living in a ''civilized'' way....according to new Ethan Hawke led film The Purge, a very interesting concept of a film, which explores a future society in which all crime is allowed for one night a year...

    It's 2022 (not actually that far away), and unemployment in America is 1%, crime is at an all-time low, and generally, everybody seems happy, especially James Sandin (Hawke), a rich citizen who makes his fortune selling security systems for houses to use during the annual Purge. Basically the reason why unemployment and crime is so low is because, for one night a year, a Purge occurs, where all crime (murder, raper robbery, the whole lot) is made legal, and no police or emergency services are allowed to interfere. Mad. But also intriguing. James and his family happily avoid the Purge by using a security system outside their large house while the rest of society kills each other, but all that changes when their youngest son Charlie decides to let a stranger into the house......

    This starts off as a really captivating film, the concept of legal crime kept me hooked, but soon enough, it descends into a stereotypical action film where Ethan Hawke fights off gangs from his house with a variety of handguns,and all originality gets lost in a haze of bullets (literally). The short running time (85mins) and variety of twists every 5 minutes makes sure that it doesn't get too boring, so overall a decent watch, but nothing that provokes any thinking afterwards.

    6/10- A lesser version of Panic Room
    4richcarter1962

    Cute Idea - Horrible Execution

    I watched this movie against my better judgement. Most of the reviews on IMDb rate this movie somewhere between awful and horrible. I was hoping that maybe they were being too harsh, they were not. I made the mistake of thinking that Lena Headey and Ethan Hawke were both credible actors. (I love Headey as the evil queen in Game of Thrones) whoever wrote her dialog in this mess should be drawn and quartered. By the end of this movie I was actually hoping that the "good guys" would get killed just to keep them from having to suffer this script anymore.

    All in all this is a bad movie, don't waste your money or your time watching it. Trust me you'll thank me in the end.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      According to director James DeMonaco, the famous road-rage incident awakening the idea for The Purge happened like this: He and his wife were driving on the freeway when a drunk driver cut them off nearly killing them. After both cars stopped, the other driver's lack of remorse enraged DeMonaco enough to engage in a fistfight and police eventually had to get involved. After the incident was over, DeMonaco's wife turned to him and commented how great it would be to have one free murder a year. He felt bad admitting this because she's normally a "sweet woman".
    • Goofs
      For a while in the middle of the movie, James has a shaped goatee and moustache, which he does not have during the rest of the movie.
    • Quotes

      Mary Sandin: We are gonna play the rest of this night out in motherfucking peace. Does anyone have a problem with that?

    • Crazy credits
      At the end Credits there are radio broadcasting about the Purge Night.
    • Connections
      Featured in ReelzChannel Specials: Richard Roeper's Red Hot Summer (2013)
    • Soundtracks
      Clair de Lune
      Written by Claude Debussy

      Arranged by Alfred Reed

      Performed by Symfonický orchester Slovenského rozhlasu (as Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra)

      Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

      Published by Klams Music & Co, Inc.

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    FAQ20

    • How long is The Purge?Powered by Alexa
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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 7, 2013 (France)
    • Countries of origin
      • France
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Universal Pictures
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • La noche de la expiación
    • Filming locations
      • Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Universal Pictures
      • Platinum Dunes
      • Blumhouse Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $3,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $64,473,115
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $34,058,360
      • Jun 9, 2013
    • Gross worldwide
      • $89,328,627
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 25 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • Dolby Atmos
      • Dolby Surround 7.1
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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