9 Frame Analysis

The Purge

1) Titles-

The title screen shows a picture of a mask commonly used on the night of the purge, while still being able to the persons eyes. The mask has permanent creepy smile to show that in a messed up way, they enjoy the freedom of being able to do whatever they want, even if it is illegal.

2) Setting/location-

The purge was set in Chatsworth, California in the USA. This fits with the whole theme of the film being an idea from the American Justice System to eradicate crime on a day to day basis. The area has low lighting, ideal for the night-time scenes and shows a major development in technology. The main location is the house of the Sadin family which is a very technology controlled household; with a full lock down system, it is the ideal place to hide safely from the purge.

3) Costumes/props-

The costumes they use such as the man seeking refuge are good because you can easily tell that he is homeless/not very well off. This helps the viewers to understand just why the purge is seen as so good; the only reason unemployment and homelessness has dropped to under 1% is because the purge allows people to murder innocent people to get out their rage built up throughout the year. In this film they used many props, such as Mr Sadin’s weapon closet to show how serious the night of the purge really was. This was very effective because the children didn’t seem to be even the slightest bit afraid at the start.

4) Title font and style-

The Red, White and Blue theme of the titles suggests as if the purge night makes America more patriotic when really it’s a whole community going against their friends, co-workers and fellow Americans. The red is splattered across the white of the title, symbolising the blood that is shed throughout this process. Using two different fonts for the title and the sequel is effective because it shows clearly the difference between the titles.

6) Intro of characters-

The introduction of characters  was like an average family dinner, although they were less talkative than expected. You do not find out much information about individual family members, only that the young boy has a tech hobby. This helps to show both sides of the purge, which includes families in lock down to protect themselves, as well as the Purgers.

7) Story/how opening sets it up-

The story begins by showing a few short but sweet sentences such as; ‘Unemployment under 1%’, ‘Crime at an all time low’, and ‘all crime is legal’. Which explains the key aspects to the film, how they've found a solution to most of their problems as a country.

8) Genre and how it suggests it-

The genre is sci-fi thriller and the first suggestion of this is the technology that the Sadin family have. They are arming their security system against the night of the purge, you also see the main victim running down their road screaming and shouting for help.

9) Special effects-

They put various filters on the film to make it seem as if the camera was a cctv camera, this is good because it shows that the crime is only captured on tape but never shown or talked about. Suggesting that while the purge is a good idea, they're not willing to broadcast it.