THE FOREVER PURGE
FOR THE MAKERS OF THE FOREVER PURGE PURGING IS A HARD HABIT TO BREAK AS CREATOR JAMES DEMONACO AND DIRECTOR EVERARDO GOUT EXPLAIN
Nothing to do with colonic irrigation, thankfully. But equally scary.
ALTHOUGH THE NEWEST instalment in the Purge franchise arrives amid a global pandemic and ongoing political unrest, filming was completed in February 2020, prior to Covid-19 being declared a pandemic, and long before the siege of the United States Capitol. Despite that, series creator James Demonaco says that the latest movie about the murderous yearly ritual of Purge night is very relevant, finally arriving in 2021.
“People who have seen an early cut are amazed that the film was completed over a year ago,” says Demonaco, who serves as producer and also wrote the script of The Forever Purge, the fifth and supposedly final entry in the series. “I think that the film’s prescience will really frighten and grip audiences and make them ask and answer some difficult questions, even as they’re entertained and thrilled.”
The Forever Purge has been described as a direct sequel to the third Purge film, 2016’s The Purge: Election Year, which ended with anti-purge night politician Senator Charlene “Charlie” Roan being elected President of the United States. However, Demonaco says that
it takes place in a very different world. “I wouldn’t call this a direct sequel because years have passed, and it’s quickly revealed that a new regime has taken over,” he explains. “Charlie Roan, whose first move as President was to eliminate the Purge, wasn’t re-elected and has been gone for years. The divide in America grew. The New Founding Fathers were voted back into power, and the Purge was reinstated.”
The film opens with Mexican couple Adela (Ana de la Reguera) and Juan (Tenoch Huerta) fleeing a Mexican drug cartel and making their way to a Texas ranch, where they eventually encounter a pack of Purge enthusiasts. “Adela and Juan are seeking sanctuary in the promise of America, not the horrible reality of what America has become in the Purge world,” says Demonaco.
“They fled trouble in Mexico and are hoping that some part of the American dream still remains, even in a world where the Purge still exists. The film asks the question, ‘Is the dream still alive?’ Their journey, through intense Purge action, represents a contemplation of this question, which they won’t be able to answer until the end of the film – if they survive, of course…”
Unlike the previous night-orientated outings, most of the scenes in The Forever Purge take place during the day. Demonaco believes that the addition of daylight will be a welcome surprise. “On a visceral level, the horror of seeing purging taking place under a bright sun is really impactful and scary,” he says. “Having the film take place during the day changes the visual palette of the film, and of the Purge universe, dramatically. I think that audiences will find purging under a bright yellow sun really bewildering and frightening, much more so than when it happened previously at night.”
That’s one major difference, then, but Demonaco says that what lies at the heart of the franchise hasn’t changed. “The Purge is the holiday that allows anyone to solve a problem through violence, with a weapon, and that, to me, is the ultimate evil,” says Demonaco. “The bad guy in the Purge films is always the Purge itself. It is the most disgusting political conceit imaginable. In this film, the Purge mutates into something even more grotesque, and Adela and Juan are caught in this trap. Can the American dream exist in a society that sanctions something as grotesque as the Purge? Their journey to find the answer to this question is the ultimate struggle that exists throughout the film.”
Also maintained is the way that the films blend different genres to create their dystopian vision. “It’s quite hard to say what genre, or combinations of genre, the Purge films really are,” says Demonaco. “There’s horror with the masks, with the tension, and the building dread. Ultimately, the films fall into a very strange amalgamation of action, science fiction, horror, thriller and drama. I think that what’s kind of fun about the series is that it has a place for all genres – except maybe broad comedy – under the same tent. It’s definitely fun to write and direct these different elements.”
Demonaco chose Everardo Gout to direct. He’d previously helmed nine episodes of Mars, National Geographic’s blend of drama and documentary, as well as individual episodes of Luke Cage and Snowpiercer.
“When I read the script, I connected with the humanity of the characters and the spirit of what James was trying to say with this film,” says Gout. “I loved that the protagonist is a woman in her forties. I love Adela and Juan. I’m proud that we cast the film with authentic Mexican actors.
“You fall in love with them as you see their love for each other, their love for the country that they live in now, and their love for the country that they left behind. We are focusing on a universe in which the NFFA [the New Founding Fathers of America] are back in power and controlling the country. The country is at a boiling point of inequality, so that’s an interesting backdrop for drama to evolve from.”
Like Demonaco, Gout believes that the film’s themes will resonate strongly with audiences. “I think that fans will be entertained but will also see elements that relate to what people are experiencing in the world today,” he says. “Adela and Juan are honest characters, and when you see them surrounded by the racial tensions that exist, you see a journey that speaks directly to what’s happening in our society right now.
“The pandemic opens the door to make people wonder about what will come next around the corner. ‘I could be faced with a chaotic situation. What am I willing to do to survive? Am I willing to steal? Am I willing to kill?’ This train of thought is very relatable. I feel like I started out making a work of fiction which has now turned into a documentary.”
Gout also thinks that the time frame during which the events of the film unfold gives it something fresh. “A lot of the film takes place in broad daylight, and there’s something worse about witnessing all of the purging under the bright sunlight,” he says. “This film gave us a chance to mix genres. There’s a Western element and horror, and it’s also a thriller. It’s science fiction because it’s a parallel universe, an alternate reality.”
However, he stresses “We wanted it to feel like it was grounded in reality. As a filmgoer, when you really believe in something, you suspend your disbelief for two hours, and that’s when it works. Our quest was to make it real – to make it real for the Mexicans, the ranchers, and the Purgers.”
There’s an additional reason why Gout wanted to direct The Forever Purge. “For me, a major hook to take this project on was that it was the last film,” he says. “I believe in finales, and when I read the script, it represented a fitting last act. Having said that,
I do believe that the universe is big enough to continue and explore. At the end of the day, you can interpret the Purge films to be the rotten brother of the Second Amendment. We all have darkness inside of us, which we repress in the right moments and in the right places. But if we expose our inner darkness, what are we capable of becoming?”
For his part, after masterminding five Purge films, as well as the spin-off television show, Demonaco is proud of what he’s accomplished with the series – especially the fact that these movies have a message. “Sebastien Lemercier, my producing partner, and I grew up loving films like The Road Warrior, The Warriors and Escape From New York – all of these amazing genre films from the late ’70s and early ’80s – and at certain points while making the films, we felt like we were making badass B-films from that period, on the cheap and wild.
“Like the old studio directors, and like John Carpenter, we tried to smuggle some sociopolitical thoughts into the genre trappings. I think we succeeded on some levels. I guess time will tell…”
It’s quite hard to say what combinations of genre the Purge films really are
The Forever Purge is in cinemas from 9 July.