It’s been 10 years sinceThe Purge, the original installment of the ongoingPurgefranchise, was released. Back then, neither Blumhouse, Universal nor even directorJames DeMonacoimagined how that movie would kick off one of the most successful horror franchises of the last few years.
2013’sThe Purgepresented to the world a dystopian America where the government has decided to celebrate a free-from-consequences crime night once a year for 12 hours. During that time, people are allowed to rob, torture and even kill, and nothing will happen to them… legally speaking.
The story focuses on the Shandin family, who are getting ready to go through an ordinary Purge night locked at their secure home, which is protected by the family head (Ethan Hawke) who dedicates himself to build security systems for rich families to use during that awful night. Everything changes when an intruder gets into the house and Purgers come looking for him. The family will have to do everything they can to survive, even facing their own neighbors. But it seems that the movie could have been very different.
Related:The Purge 6 In Doubt Because the Studio is “Scared” Says Creator
How the Original Idea for the First The Purge Movie Would’ve Changed Ethan Hawke’s Character
While speaking with Collider,The Purgecreator James DeMonaco revealed that his original plan for the first film would have made Ethan Hawke’s character act very differently, changing the whole movie:
“[He] didn’t just sell security systems. Because I wanted it to be a morality play. This is the big thing that we cut. We put it in Part Two a little bit. He purged someone in the basement as a ritual every year. He bought someone to purge as the societal catharsis that the purge has promised to be, that it will make you a better person. He bought fully into this propaganda and kills a man on page 25. That’s the first purge of the movie. They thought the morality play was in the DNA of the piece without having seen Ethan’s character, James Sandin, kill a man. The fact that he sold security systems, they thought that he was making a profit off the purge, was enough to show the economic benefit to his family and that he was buying into the propaganda of the holiday. So, that went.”
Fortunately, DeMonaco said that they were able to explore that original idea on The Purge: Anarchy:
“We kind of saw that where there’s a man who gets bought. Carmen Ejogo’s dad (John Beasley) gets bought by a rich family, very similar to what we had in Purge 1 that I cut."
According toBox Office Mojo,The Purge’s first film has currently earned more than $89.3 million worldwide, a huge number considering its budget of $3 million.The Purge: Election Yeartops the franchise’s list with over $137 million earned against a $9 million budget.
