MAKE A FACE!
How the ‘Purge’ prequel team came up with its freaky, frightening face masks
TALK about looks that kill.
In the “Purge” movie series — about a fictional night when angsty Americans can commit any crime they want, including murder — revelers don freaky masks while they slash, shoot and loot.
In the latest entry, “The First Purge,” out Friday, starring Marisa Tomei and Y’lan Noel, more than 20 unique masks are featured — created by a dedicated threeperson team of mask-makers, including one who also works on Italian operas.
But when the original film was released, in 2013, the iconic faces were an afterthought for the filmmakers.
In the first installment, “We didn’t have a lot of masks,” the series’ producer, Sébastien Lemercier, tells The Post. There was one notable exception: a “very iconic and terrifying mask” that the filmmakers dubbed the Polite Stranger.
Audiences connected to it. Four months after the film hit theaters, the Polite Stranger started popping up at Halloween parties.
“I got text messages from all over the US. ‘ Look at this “Purge” mask here!’ At this party, at that party,” says Lemercier. “And then, we realized during ‘ The Purge: Anarchy’ [the next film], the masks are very important.”
Ideas for the creations come from the entire film crew, who stir up back stories for each mask. For example, a more painstaking disguise might indicate a more serious killer. Sometimes, they’re influenced by the actors who wear them. 2014’s “The Purge: Anarchy” was an early film credit for actor Lakeith Stanfield, who later exploded with movies such as “Get Out” and “Sorry To Bother You” (review at right). The filmmakers, Lemercier says, were thrilled by the actor’s “wonderful, charismatic personality.” Inspired, director James DeMonaco came up with the God mask, a simple white face with rosy cheeks and “GOD” scrawled on it.
“It was inspired by [Stanfield’s] natural demeanor and elegance,” Lemercier says. That mask is also the producer’s favorite. “It’s easy to do terrifying when [masks] have teeth and complicated things; it’s hard to do with a certain elegance and simplicity,” he tells The Post. When a mask works, he says, the filmmakers know instantly. “I remember when we put the mask on Lakeith . . . I thought, ‘This is gold.’ ”
Here’s a look at what inspired the new masks in the fourth “Purge” film.