The First Purge

"Witness the birth of an American tradition."

2018 1h 37m EN

😐

6.0

MID

★6.0TMDB · 4,314

ActionHorrorThriller

Synopsis

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To push the crime rate below one percent for the rest of the year, the New Founding Fathers of America test a sociological theory that vents aggression for one night in one isolated community. But when the violence of oppressors meets the rage of the others, the contagion will explode from the trial-city borders and spread across the nation.

“Witness the birth of an American tradition.”

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Cast

Y'lan Noel
Dmitri Cimber
Lex Scott Davis
Nya Charms
Joivan Wade
Isaiah Charms
Steve Harris
Freddy
Mugga
Dolores
Patch Darragh
Arlo Sabian / Chief of Staff
Marisa Tomei
Dr. May Updale / Architect
Luna Lauren Vélez
Luisa

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Gerard McMurray
Writers: Juan Sanchez, James DeMonaco
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $137M — a 10.5× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 8 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Purge Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CAST

Did you know

223+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Directed by Gerard McMurray, shot by Anastas N. Michos. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jim Page shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Y'lan Noel and Lex Scott Davis and Joivan Wade carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Witness the birth of an American tradition.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Gerard McMurray directs. Anastas N. Michos behind the camera. Jim Page cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Grossed $137M — a 10.5× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
2Released 8 years ago.
3Part of the "The Purge Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4223+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
5Directed by Gerard McMurray, shot by Anastas N. Michos. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Editor Jim Page shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Y'lan Noel and Lex Scott Davis and Joivan Wade carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Witness the birth of an American tradition.".
9IMDB entry: tt6133466 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 12 themes, including "new york city", "new jersey", "dystopia", "prequel".
11Released under 13 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Anastas N. Michos
Editing: Jim Page
Production design: Sharon Lomofsky
Costume design: Amela Bakšić
Makeup / hair: Eric s Wilson
Sound: Josh Berger
Stunt coordinator: Hank Amos
Runtime: 97 min · 1h 37m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $13,000,000
Box office: $137,056,262
Return: 1054% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The First Purge (2018)

Part of

The Purge Collection

The Purge Collection unfolds in a dystopian America where all crime is legal for one night each year. Blending horror, action, and social commentary, it explores themes of survival, morality, and systemic control through intense, suspenseful storytelling and a chilling vision of sanctioned chaos.

Also by

Gerard McMurray

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Gimly2018-10-06
★ 6/10
The Purge has come a long way since its inception. Originally used as nothing more than an excuse to explain away "Why don't they just call the cops?" in your average home-invasion movie, the original Purge movie had implied classism for the meat of it, and then an actual call to class division right at the end. Since then, the classism, and racism in American society has become a focal B-story to the Purge movies, and now we're in 2018 for the prequel - The First Purge - and those issues are now the whole point of the movie. Some might say that it's because the movies have lost any sense of subtlety, personally I think it's more that the creatives are sick of people missing the point. The First Purge can't have been an easy thing to give the go-ahead in the current political climate over in the US, but it's important, and moreover, not a bad little film, socio-economic politics aside. Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. Would personally recommend you give it a go.

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