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Review: ‘The First Purge’ [Blu-Ray/DVD]

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How did the United States reach a point where murder was viewed as an acceptable solution to the country’s problems?  This question is at the heart of The First Purge, the fourth film in the Purge film series, which documents the origin of the Purge Night concept.

In The First Purge, ground zero is Staten Island, New York, a borough that is chosen as an experimental test location by the authoritarian New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA).  As this is an origin film, the mystery in the film is related to just how far the NFFA is willing to go to make this first Purge Night a success.

Although the film reveals the conversations and thoughts behind the Purge concept, the bulk of the film follows the structure of the previous films.  As the commencement of Purge Night nears, the residents must decide whether they will hide from the legalized carnage that’s about to unfold, or participate in it. The most interesting aspect of The First Purge is the socio-economic and racial dynamic that exists in the film.  Whereas political and social commentary have always been embedded within the fabric of the Purge film series, The First Purge draws a clear parallel between the fictional NFFA administration and the Donald Trump administration.

All of the residents in the film, both the participants and the victims, are black, whereas all of the NFFA officials are white.  As the President of the United States who appears in the film is clearly in the mold of Donald Trump, the filmmakers are clearly suggesting that the Trump administration is fundamentally corrupt and that anyone who supports the current administration is in concert with oppression and tyranny.

While the political commentary in The First Purge is heavy-handed, it doesn’t take the focus off of the visceral aspects of the film.  Director Gerard McMurray and producer-writer James DeMonaco counterbalance interpersonal relationships and situations with sudden burst of violence.

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has given The First Purge modest treatment, in terms of the special features that appear on the Blu-Ray/DVD combo release.  It would have been nice to have listened to an audio commentary by DeMonaco and Gerard McMurray and hear them explain the thought process that went into the making of the film, especially in terms of the film’s political message.

The special features section includes a single deleted scene and three short making-of documentaries, one of which, The Masks of the First Purge, showcases the gallery of odd Purge masks that appear in the film.  In the documentaries Bringing the Chaos and A Radical Experiment, the cast and filmmakers briefly discuss the filming process and share their thoughts about the parallels between the fictional Purge universe and present-day America.

For Purge loyalists, The First Purge represents a worthwhile addition to their collection, while the casual viewer will only need to watch this film once.  Like the other Purge films, The First Purge will almost certainly become a fixture on cable television within eighteen months.

The First Purge Blu-Ray/DVD will be released on October 2.

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‘Evil Dead’ Film Franchise Getting TWO New Installments

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It was a risk for Fede Alvarez to reboot Sam Raimi’s horror classic The Evil Dead in 2013, but that risk paid off and so did its spiritual sequel Evil Dead Rise in 2023. Now Deadline is reporting that the series is getting, not one, but two fresh entries.

We already knew about the Sébastien Vaniček upcoming film that delves into the Deadite universe and should be a proper sequel to the latest film, but we are broadsided that Francis Galluppi and Ghost House Pictures are doing a one-off project set in Raimi’s universe based off of an idea that Galluppi pitched to Raimi himself. That concept is being kept under wraps.

Evil Dead Rise

“Francis Galluppi is a storyteller who knows when to keep us waiting in simmering tension and when to hit us with explosive violence,” Raimi told Deadline. “He is a director that shows uncommon control in his feature debut.”

That feature is titled The Last Stop In Yuma County which will release theatrically in the United States on May 4. It follows a traveling salesman, “stranded at a rural Arizona rest stop,” and “is thrust into a dire hostage situation by the arrival of two bank robbers with no qualms about using cruelty-or cold, hard steel-to protect their bloodstained fortune.”

Galluppi is an award-winning sci-fi/horror shorts director whose acclaimed works include High Desert Hell and The Gemini Project. You can view the full edit of High Desert Hell and the teaser for Gemini below:

High Desert Hell
The Gemini Project

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‘Invisible Man 2’ Is “Closer Than Its Ever Been” to Happening

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Elisabeth Moss in a very well-thought-out statement said in an interview for Happy Sad Confused that even though there have been some logistical issues for doing Invisible Man 2 there is hope on the horizon.

Podcast host Josh Horowitz asked about the follow-up and if Moss and director Leigh Whannell were any closer to cracking a solution to getting it made. “We are closer than we have ever been to cracking it,” said Moss with a huge grin. You can see her reaction at the 35:52 mark in the below video.

Happy Sad Confused

Whannell is currently in New Zealand filming another monster movie for Universal, Wolf Man, which might be the spark that ignites Universal’s troubled Dark Universe concept which hasn’t gained any momentum since Tom Cruise’s failed attempt at resurrecting The Mummy.

Also, in the podcast video, Moss says she is not in the Wolf Man film so any speculation that it’s a crossover project is left in the air.

Meanwhile, Universal Studios is in the middle of constructing a year-round haunt house in Las Vegas which will showcase some of their classic cinematic monsters. Depending on attendance, this could be the boost the studio needs to get audiences interested in their creature IPs once more and to get more films made based on them.

The Las Vegas project is set to open in 2025, coinciding with their new proper theme park in Orlando called Epic Universe.

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Jake Gyllenhaal’s Thriller ‘Presumed Innocent’ Series Gets Early Release Date

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Jake gyllenhaal presumed innocent

Jake Gyllenhaal’s limited series Presumed Innocent is dropping on AppleTV+ on June 12 instead of June 14 as originally planned. The star, whose Road House reboot has brought mixed reviews on Amazon Prime, is embracing the small screen for the first time since his appearance on Homicide: Life on the Street in 1994.

Jake Gyllenhaal’s in ‘Presumed Innocent’

Presumed Innocent is being produced by David E. Kelley, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, and Warner Bros. It is an adaptation of Scott Turow’s 1990 film in which Harrison Ford plays a lawyer doing double duty as an investigator looking for the murderer of his colleague.

These types of sexy thrillers were popular in the ’90s and usually contained twist endings. Here’s the trailer for the original:

According to Deadline, Presumed Innocent doesn’t stray far from the source material: “…the Presumed Innocent series will explore obsession, sex, politics and the power and limits of love as the accused fights to hold his family and marriage together.”

Up next for Gyllenhaal is the Guy Ritchie action movie titled In the Grey scheduled for release in January 2025.

Presumed Innocent is an eight-episode limited series set to stream on AppleTV+ starting June 12.

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