I remember in 7th grade being asked to briefly write up what would happen if everyone 13 and older suddenly died off. My response was what felt to me like the obvious: that everyone would kill each other and humanity would cease to exist. Oddly, the teacher was pretty horrified and incredulous that people could be so destructive. But if The Purge is any reliable indicator of human behavior in such circumstances, my instincts were dead-on.
Lord of the Flies for the exploitation crowd, this series has come into its own (and as one of the few franchises to ever do so, if not the only) by switching genres from horror to action. While not as good as the second installment Anarchy but still an improvement over the first, Election Year does an admirable-enough job of transcending its title gimmick.
Moved to Washington D.C., the movie features two plot lines that inevitably intersect. The first is that of Senator Charlie Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell), presidential candidate and Purge survivor who wants the holiday abolished. Her opponent (Kyle Secor) and more importantly the ruling party backing him (Raymond J. Barry and bunch of other creepy guys) see her as a threat to their control and plan to eliminate her during the next Purge.
But wait, aren’t government officials off-limits? Nope, not anymore. That condition now revoked, her life is in serious danger. Luckily Sergeant Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo) has given up vigilantism to be her head of security. When Purge night comes, against all advisement she chooses to stay at home for the 99%-ers experience.
Joe Dixon (Mykelti Williamson) is the focus of the second. He’s a deli/convenience store owner who’s just lost his insurance on the eve of the Purge. To assist him in defending his store are Marcos (Joseph Julian Soria), a loyal employee who left Mexico for a better life in the states (and before anyone asks, yes he’s legal), and Laney Rucker (Betty Gabriel), a reformed delinquent who drives an underground ambulance to help victims.
Each of these plot threads mirror those in the previous two films, and carry those same pros and cons. The first, like the home invasion routine in the first film, features a plot that can play out just the same even without this elaborate setup. The second though takes its cues from Anarchy, specifically addressing how the Purge affects life for ordinary citizens. And fortunately for this picture, the second takes much more prominence when they come together.
But when it’s in the mode of the first, it makes the same mistakes. The handling of political elements seems actively trying to be as unsubtle as possible and, as just said, the situation is old hat that doesn’t do anything with the Purge premise. If these guys are so powerful, can’t they just assassinate anyone any day of the year and get away with it?
Some new bits of world-building are contributed. In addition to the EMTs, the concept of “murder tourism” is introduced. That is to say, foreigners vacationing in America just so they can participate in the Purge. Though briefly incorporated, this is a rather strong element, really hammering home the universality of human depravity. Home-made drones come about too and present added foes. There’s also street cleaners that sweep up bodies while this is all going on, but that’s more or less a Cinema Sin waiting to happen.
But at the same time, things built up in the last installment are dropped without explanation. What happened to the resistance group led by Michael Kenneth Williams? There is a new group here led by one of his subordinates (Edwin Hodge), but just what transpired between films for that to be?
But when it sticks to its basic promise of macabre action, it delivers. Cartoonish and over-the-top as the baddies might be (including a group of would-be shoplifters driving up in a car covered with Christmas lights), it’s really cathartic to see them get their just desserts. Grillo and Mitchell are fine, but Williamson steals the movie. He really does well as the neighborhood hero/father figure we all wish we had.
As the cult film scene goes, Election Year is worthy of joining Anarchy as a fixture. That preceding entry may be the superior of the two, but this one is still a fitting companion piece and conclusion (…or is it?) to the tale.
