This week, USA will take an interesting stab at launching a new cable series. The network, once known for Law & Order reruns and wrestling, has slowly built a fascinating lineup of unique dramas – from the quirky crime series Psych to the praised anthology series The Sinner. But their new drama actually stems from a familiar property: The Purge, Blumhouse’s politically tinged horror property. But, the question must be asked: is there room for a whole television series within this cinematic universe?
The first Purge film felt like something of a Twilight Zone episode – it was small, self-contained, driven by suspense, and merely teased the greater world promised by the franchise. While many laughed at the ludicrous nature of the premise – what would happen if the government legalized murder for 24 hours? – the series was always interested in exploring deeper, more thought provoking themes (albeit in the bluntest way possible). But, as the series continued, its first two sequels explained the origins of the titular “holiday,” and further clarified the franchise’s thesis statement: that, because of income inequality, our government is already, essentially, killing our poor.
While The Purge franchise certainly isn’t for everyone, it does deserve some credit for attempting to provide broader political commentary. Sure, the subtext is soaked in blood and any metaphors are impossible to miss, but there is still some meat on these bones, even four films deep. While the films have been somewhat inconsistent in quality, and occasionally falls into gross pits of unnecessarily sadistic violence, they have always stood out in the world of horror, and stand out as one of the more original franchises to emerge during this genre revival we’re living in. But, the question is, where do we go from here?
The Purge: Election Year, the third franchise in this series, wrapped up the main timeline with the titular event being finished for good. But, box office receipts demand otherwise, and thus filmmakers went back to the past with The First Purge this summer, explaining how the “holiday” started in the first place. That’s an interesting idea in theory, but now, it begs the question: we’ve seen the beginning and the end of this timeline – what more is there to see? Are we just going to drop in on different Purge’s each season? And, if we were, what more can this story bring to the franchise’s table?
And that question brings up the biggest problem in the franchise: while each individual film has interesting subtext to explore, it is the same subtext. This is a story about income inequality and political corruption, but not much else. Furthermore, every sequel introduces the same theme, but doesn’t exactly unveil new evidence or qualifiers to its claim. And that’s fine – but, it seems like it will be tiring as a TV show. Series like these are hourly commitments that expect us to tune in, week after week, for months at time. But… why should we tune in for the same lesson in economics and politics over and over again? Especially when the news is reminding us of this every day (sans grisly metaphor, of course).
The Purge is an interesting idea for a series – and horror anthologies are all the rage, so it’s obvious why TNT would jump at this chance. But it’s just hard to image much being brought to the table. There are more options than ever for what to watch on TV, but this just seems like something that should stay at the movies. Only time will tell…
