THE FOREVER PURGE
MASK 4 MASK
FOR THE MAKERS OF THE FOREVER PURGE PURGING IS A HARD HABIT TO BREAK, AS CREATOR JAMES DEMONACO AND DIRECTOR EVERARDO GOUT EXPLAIN
WORDS: DAVID GROVE
ALTHOUGH THE NEWEST instalment in the Purge franchise arrives amid a global pandemic and ongoing political unrest, filming was completed in February 2020, prior to Covid-19 being declared a pandemic, and long before the siege of the United States Capitol. Despite that, series creator James DeMonaco says that the latest movie about the murderous yearly ritual of Purge night is very relevant, finally arriving in 2021.
“People who have seen an early cut are amazed that the film was completed over a year ago,” says DeMonaco, who serves as producer and also wrote the script of The Forever Purge, the fifth and supposedly final entry in the series. “I think that the film’s prescience will really frighten and grip audiences and make them ask and answer some difficult questions, even as they’re entertained and thrilled.”
The Forever Purge has been described as a direct sequel to the third Purge film, 2016’s The Purge: Election Year, which ended with anti-Purge night politician Senator Charlene “Charlie” Roan being elected President of the United States. However, DeMonaco says that it takes place in a very different world. “I wouldn’t call this a direct sequel because years have passed, and it’s quickly revealed that a new regime has taken over,” he explains. “Charlie Roan, whose first move as President was to eliminate the Purge, wasn’t re-elected and has been gone for years. The divide in America grew. The New Founding Fathers were voted back into power, and the Purge was reinstated.”