The Purge

The year is 2013 and the New Founding Fathers have instituted something called The Purge - a 12 hour window in which all crimes (including murder) are legal. This keeps the population relatively peaceful and the country crime free during the rest of the year.

The Sandin family lives in a well off community and their impressive house came courtesy of the security systems Mr. Sandin has sold to everyone and their grandmother. Some animosity about this is hinted at when one of the Stepford-esque neighbors brings over a plate of cookies for Mrs. Sandin for the upcoming lock down.

The couple just wants to sit out the next 12 hours in peace and quiet, not having any bottled up anger strong enough to make them go out an join in the killings. Their kids, however, make a few very bad decisions throughout the night. Daughter Zoey, who is your typical annoyed teenager, is seeing a young man who is referred to as considerably older than her (he doesn't look it, though), that her father forbade her to continue seeing. He tells her that he will state his case to Mr. Sandin and because of the lock down he will have no other choice but to listen. What he really is there to do is to shoot the man. Sandin, of course, is armed (just in case) and apparently the better shot. The shootout coincides with the family's son Charlie letting in a homeless man who is being hunted by participants in the purge and crying for help outside the house.

Soon a group of young people wearing masks is at the Sandin's front door and demands they release the homeless guy because it is their right to kill him and homelessness is not a desired state of being in this new reality. When the Sandin's fail to deliver the would be victim by the deadline given, the group rip off they main security door with a truck and proceed to hunt everybody within the house. Mr. Sandin falls victim to them in the battle spread out over the house. The last of the purgers still standing is killed by the helpful neighbors before he can do any more harm.

The neighbors, however, are not as friendly and helpful as they appear to be. Rather, they saw that the security system had been breached and smelled a chance to cleanse themselves of their hatred towards the Sandin family. Luckily, the thankful homeless stranger comes to their rescue and they Sandin family, together with four surviving neighbors and the homeless man sit out the rest of the night before everyone goes their merry way.

Interesting. Could have been better.

6/10

Sinister

A true-crime writer, who apparently gets a kick (or "inspiration") out of moving into homes where crimes have been committed, tries to reignate his faded flame of stardom by writing this one book that will change everything.

For that purpose he moves his family into nice suburban house. Of course, this home is no different, never mind what he tells his wife. Right at the beginning of the film, we see a super 8 film of a family 'hanging around'. In this case, this translates to a group hanging of every family member but one - a little girl disappears and is never heard of again.

Soon, our writer finds a box in the attic holding a number of home movies from different decades and shot in far apart locations. What they all have in common is that on each we see a family murdered. The manner changes but from each family one child goes missing.

The connection? Bughuul. That is some sort of demon, only few drawings of it remain. Along with the videos, the writer finds drawings of the different crimes, seemingly done by children and naming all the victims and putting an extra figure next to the dead bodies, called 'Mr. Boogie'.

What connnects the victim's families is that each has lived in a house that was once occupied by one of the other families. So, when the writer finds that out, it is already too late for him and his loved ones, even though he did get the hell out of Dodge when weird occurences and sounds in the new house had spooked him out enough.

They die by the hand of their young daughter. After she is done, she is picked up by Mr. Boogie and carried into another super 8 film.

In normal films this would all be weird but in horror films this sort of works. It would have been great except for one thing that bugged me throughout - they never turn on the lights. They even have dinner in the near dark. While this may add some suspense to the viewing experience if you stop and think about it it is just plain stupid.

6/10