The Purge: How I Would Have Written It

A few days ago, I watched The Purge on the big screen; despite the interesting premise, the sociological implications, and a cast of wicked villains, the film proved to be rather disappointing with its idiotic characters, limited scope and scale, and an overall lack of refinement.  It makes for a serviceable, but never exceptional, slasher movie, and little more.

At times like this, I often stop and wonder, if I had this story idea for myself, what would I have done with it? If I were to write this out as a novel or something, I think it would be different in the following ways, to best match up with what I believe would have been a more worthwhile storytelling experience.

Spoilers are ahead.

The main idea behind this movie is that, in the year 2022, the United States becomes "reborn," and an annual "Purge" is allowed every year, during which all emergency services are shut down for a 12-hour period, and every citizen is allowed to commit any crime they so wish.  The film asserts that, because people are allowed to "release the beast" in this way, crime has been drastically reduced, poverty has been eliminated, and people overall are happier and wealthier.  Or, so it seems:  the characters speculate that this only happens because the purge is really a way for society to eliminate the poor and the homeless.

The film focuses solely on one family struggling to survive the night; one stupid kid opens the doors to a stranger who's hurt, bad guys come knocking wanting to kill the stranger, and then everybody's in trouble.  Oh yeah, there's also a stupid subplot in which the daughter's seeing some dude what the father doesn't like, so this dude sneaks into the house wanting to kill the father, thinking that would be the perfect way to win over the love of his life.  The film ultimately ends with a massive series of fights; the father winds up dying, but everybody else is saved by their neighbors.  Then, the neighbors want to purge this family, but the stranger they saved before holds everybody at gunpoint.  They all sit down and wait out the last so-many hours in peace and quiet.  One stupid neighbor acts up; Lena Heady whacks her in the face, and it was awesome.  That's pretty much it for the plot.

As you can surmise, I found it to be a wasted opportunity.  So if I had this concept in mind, and wrote it out as a novel, it would have probably been like this:

• First and foremost, I probably would have handled this story in a totally different context.  The home-invasion angle is very limiting, offering no view of what's going on everywhere else in the country during the purge.  Alternate ways in which I would have found this story more exciting would be:
• Having it all take place from the perspective of the people doing the purging.  Imagine having this story following around a group of restless, raging psychotics; it could be something as wicked and disturbing as A Clockwork Orange.  This would have also been an ample opportunity to show the purge on the street level, which I assume would be constantly perilous and dangerous, substantially ramping up the conflict.  It may also be perfect for characterization, for if the characters are all violent criminals to start with, it would make sense for me to have the protagonist obtain some higher moral understanding, thanks perhaps to the consequences of his/her actions.  Overall, this story could have had much bigger potential by focusing on the actual purge, rather than an average family behind secure walls.
• Even if I were to write this story the same way as the movie, with a family trapped in their own home, I think I would have taken some imaginative excesses here.  In this angle, I probably would have had a bunch of bad guys running up to the home, trying to besiege it (either because they all hate this family, or just because they're crazy).  That could be when the father whips out the best home defensive system ever:  landmines, automated turrets with ridiculously powerful ammo (or laser beams), rocket launchers, deflector shields, and lord knows what else.  Then the house itself could have a well-stocked panic room with titanium walls, and maybe an escape tunnel.  As it is, the film only has a security system "for show," but hell, why not go all the way? If there are crazies out on the streets every year, these characters should have invested more in defenses.  It would have been awesome.
• If nothing else, they could have bobby-trapped their home just like in Skyfall...or Home Alone.
• Chances are that, in any case, I would have taken the characters out onto the street level, to see the carnage of the purge firsthand.  By doing so, it would offer stronger possibilities for exploring the social implications of the purge firsthand, in addition to making it a more intense and exciting experience.
• Of course, the kills would have to be more impressive.  Sure, some people in the audience really carried on with the axe and knife murders shown on-screen, but for an event that's so brutal and uncompromising, it's all relatively tame.  In the purge, there are bound to be serial killers out there, wanting to kill in more creative and painful ways.  In the fight for survival, the characters may have to pull out some brutal moves of their own.
• In the background, I feel it would also help a lot to explore more about the history of the purge, how things came to be this way, how society works, and whatnot.  The movie skims over some things, but never offers much depth.  I always feel that a greater depth of society and politics will make the story more immsersive and believable.
• As I've seen mentioned on other message boards, why not have the characters go on vacation out of the country during the purge? Then there's nothing to worry about! Such a notion could be mentioned in the narrative, to avoid further plot holes (maybe other countries deny entrance during the purge, or maybe US airports close too, or maybe some people go on vacation but others can't...).
• The characters definitely deserve more diligent attention.  In the movie, they make dumb decisions.  That kid should have never opened the door for the stranger in the street (how did he know the code in the first place?).  Surely, he should have realized that the stranger could have pulled a gun or something, how could he know? The whole subplot with the daughter and the boyfriend was a drag more than anything (how could this idiot think that she'd go for him after murdering her father?), and I probably wouldn't have even messed with it.  The two parents are the only truly sensible characters in the film.  For the best characterization, however, I'd probably write them out in totally different ways:
• I try my best to make my characters sensible.  I don't think I'd ever have the kid open the doors for the stranger in the first place.  I wouldn't have the boyfriend drop by with a gun either.
• How would I depict these characters? If this was still a family set-up, I'd probably have the kids take an interest in the purge, and the parents try to shelter or guide them.  Maybe one of the kids could sneak out and try to participate in the purge; that in itself could be the entire story.  After all, the whole "release the beast" thing would appeal the most to teens, and it could all tie into a coming-of-age theme.
• If I went with the plot idea I mentioned before, focusing on criminals rather than a family, then this could be a golden opportunity to develop fresh new characters.  Maybe they're just a bunch of punks, lacking in direction or motivation, wanting to just wreak as much havoc as they can.  Or, maybe they have a goal, to try and make a big score or something.  Or, better yet, just like in the movie, maybe they're just prominent students from an upscale school, wanting to break free from their stringent rules and norms for a night and let their primal passions guide them.  In any case, there are endless ways to make good characters stand out and have them be relevant (without being stupid, too).
•  The themes would also be an interesting thing to explore.  The movie digs up some interesting sociological issues, but never explores them head-on.  In fact, it gets incredulous, considering that the characters are willing to put their own lives on the line for a higher moral ideal (namely, saving the stranger, rather than handing him over to the bad guys.  But for the longest time, the father wanted to hand him over and save his family; that would have made sense.  Having everybody changing their minds didn't make sense to me, even though it's the morally right thing).

By my hand, The Purge would have probably been a more futuristic and more hardcore form of dystopian sci-fi, because that's the direction that would have interested and thrilled me the most.  I can't say for sure if such a direction would have really been any better or worse than the movie itself, but it is interesting to consider.  The Purge might stand as another one of those story ideas I wish I could have gotten to first.