When The First Purge, the latest in
Blumhouse’s saga of a future where all crime is legal for one night, sticks to
the horror elements that drive the franchise, it’s often quite effective. In
short bursts, it taps an underlying sense of dread and evokes a visceral,
gut-level terror. When the protagonists stumble their way through dark streets,
pursued by gangs of giddily murderous revelers draped in eerie masks, it’s
tense and scary and raw. The framework around these moments, however, doesn’t always
support the weight.
