Throughout
the movie the lighting is very dark and dull creating a very sinister and
mysterious atmosphere, the only time the lighting picks up is before and after
the annual purge. In addition to this as the purge goes on through the night
the lighting gets more hash showing the light has been turned on the Sandin
family’s cosy little world and on this night everyone is the same no amount of
money will change it. In addition to this the lighting becomes darker and
darker as there are a lot of jump scares with typical loud thudding music to
build tension. There is also an absence of sound in this movie which gives it
the element of surprise and suspense as the absence of sound in a movie gives
it tension, depth and makes the atmosphere very uneasy meaning it is typical to
know when there will be a jump scare.
In the movie
‘The Purge’ there are a lot of point of view shots as you can see the movie through
the eye of Timmy the son’s remote control toy that roams the house throughout
the night unnoticed. The movie also has a lot of heavy shadow as the only main
light comes from house lamps and dull dim wall lights so the heavy shadows
cause contrast and gives the idea we do not know what is lurking and hiding in
these shadows.
One of my personal
favourite scenes is where the group of masked purgers end up on the door step of
the Sandin house. I think this is a very good and key scene to the movie as it
shows everyone is in danger on the night of the purge and that due to the harsh
and intense lighting it shows that they are capable of anything. There is also
the idea that the group are all wearing masks which gives it that mysterious
and intense feel as they do not know who is behind the masks it could be anyone
even their friends or family but due to the masks they are completely unknown. However
the leader of the group does reveal himself to the Sandin family and when he
does this he smiles to them, this shows how he manipulates them and makes them
think he is just doing his duty as an American and that he must purge and they
should let him or they are going against them. It also shows that he is trying
to make them see he is just the same as them but instead of hiding away he
wants to release his anger and turn that into murder.
I think the star performance form the movie was from Rhys
Wakefeild who plays the polite stranger in the mask as he plays the character
very well as one minute he is calm and polite yet you can still see a very
sinister edge to his character. I also think the performance by Ethan Hawke
(James Sandin) and Lena Headey (Mary Sandin) are particularly done well as Lena
shows a very worried mother but at the same time when it comes to protecting
them she will do anything even if it means becoming violet.
I do think this movie is amazing at how it uses the
absence of sound as it not only uses it to build up tension but it uses it in
general to create atmosphere which is not what most thrillers do as they usually
only us the absence if sound when they are building up to a jump scare so it is
quite predictable whereas in this movie it uses silence more than music which
makes people think there will be a jump scare when in fact there is none.
Overall I think this movie is great as it is its own
idea and has not copied any other type of thriller. It stands alone and follows
a family throughout the night and shows their events it doesn’t switch to many
other families during the film. I also believe this is a good film because the
concept of the movie switches quite a lot and the Sandin family who are all
very pristine and proper uncover dark secrets about themselves and the
neighbourhood they live in. Personally I would say this movie is a 4 and a half
stars out of 5 as the idea and cinematography are great, however I think the
performance from some of the actors could have been improved. This can be
overseen as the storyline and camera angles plus lighting really do pick the
movie up.
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