“We are the real patriots of America,” announce a
group of the mask-wearing white supremacists
during the latest fictional bloodletting, hoping
to exterminate anyone Black or brown. “America
will be America once again.” There’s no escaping
the feeling that “The Forever Purge” is a poison
pen letter to Trumpism.
For those just joining creator James DeMonaco’s
“Purge” series, here’s how it works: In a near-
future, the government, led by a nefarious party
called the New Founding Fathers of America,
allows an annual 12-hour period of lawlessness
without recriminations.
Over the course of a single night, rape, murder,
robbery and everything else is permitted across
the nation as a way to release anger but also a
way to cull from an overpopulated nation and
lower crime.
The last chronological film in the series —
2016’s “The Purge: Election Year” — seemed to
end with an outlawing of the purge, but that
clearly didn’t last. The New Founding Fathers
are back in charge as “The Forever Purge” opens
and their annual horror shows have been
reinstalled. There’s also a wall established along
the southern border.
“It’s starting, y’all,” one main character in a
Texas town announces as the purge
countdown begins. She is protected by wealth
in her ranching compound but her immigrant
employees must huddle for safety in a
makeshift shelter.
This time, the annual purge time passes without
anyone we care about ending up dead, but then
the event doesn’t end. The film cracks open at
this point, adding class resentment to the mix.