Universal continues to expand the Purge franchise, now with a prequel titled The First Purge. Obviously the film will be a prequel showing how The Purge came into being and what exactly the politics were behind it. And Universal really is hammering in on the politics, as you can see on the first official poster for The First Purge.
The poster uses a generic red baseball cap like many are using with Trump’s “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN” slogan. Only this poster exchanged that phrase for the movie’s title. It’s an interesting idea, but a little too on-the-nose for me. I appreciate when a horror film can demonstrate political and social commentary, but only when it’s done secondly to the action at hand.
This poster only tells me that the movie will merely take stabs at conservatives throughvery blunt and straightforward satire.There’s little in the way of actually illustrating the film and how it will adapt the elements of the franchise we’ve already become accustomed to and how it could improve them.
But in a world where even American Horror Story paints entire seasonal story arcs around the 2016 Presidential Election, it seems filmmakers and artists have lost their edge in being able to blend commentary more subtly with their art.
Regardless, Universal also has a plot synopsis for The First Purge released and ready to go.
Behind every tradition lies a revolution. Next Independence Day, witness the rise of our country’s 12 hours of annual lawlessness. Welcome to the movement that began as a simple experiment: The First Purge. To push the crime rate below one percent for the rest of the year, the New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA) test a sociological theory that vents aggression for one night in one isolated community. But when the violence of oppressors meets the rage of the marginalized, the contagion will explode from the trial-city borders and spread across the nation.
It’ll at least be interesting to see how this film will do in terms of financial and critical success. The Purge: Election Year was actually the highest-grossing film for the franchise, so perhaps The First Purge might just steal its place.
What do you think about the new poster for The First Purge? Are you excited for the film? Or are you burned out on blatantly-placed politics? Let us know in the comments section down below!