THE PURGE SERIES was born in rage, and to rage, it must return. In interviews, writer and director James DeMonaco has traced the origin of the movies to a fistfight he once got into when a deranged drunk driver nearly killed him and his wife on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Afterward, DeMonaco recalled, his wife—an otherwise sweet doctor—said, “Wouldn’t it be great if we all had one free one a year?” He emerged from the experience with the premise of a dystopian but outwardly peaceful United States where, every year for 12 hours, pretty much all crime is legal and citizens are allowed to kill rape, and pillage at will.
This story is from the July 5-18, 2021 edition of New York magazine.
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This story is from the July 5-18, 2021 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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