MovieChat Forums > The Purge (2013) Discussion > So much bad decision making

So much bad decision making

posted 8 years ago by RaizelRose
3 replies | jump to latest

It really bugs me how many plot holes and such stupid rationale can be in just a single action/thriller movie. Not everyone makes good decisions in near-death situations, OK I get that. But literally everyone was making one bad decision after another. So many plot holes and poor reasoning in a 90 minute film is just plain lazy writing to me.

-Brainwashed citizens think the purge leads to some sort of moral redemption. Ok, that's not too far fetched I guess. But there are no hard feelings between people for the rest of the year? Like, "You hacked up my wife good there, Bill! Hopefully I'll have better luck next purge!"
-Is PTSD not recognized? Cuz there was an awful lot of traumatic stuff going on.
-A person can be cleansed of their inner demons if they are allowed to rape, pillage, and murder for 12 hours out of each year?
-Crimes of passion don't exist and no one suffers from impulsive behavior
-The death of thousands, maybe even millions of people totally does not tank the economy at all.

And then such utter stupidness from all parties involved...
-Why didn't these parents force both the kids to sit their asses down and stay put?
-the little boy has no idea his "heroism" led to his father's death and his family's involvement in a brutal massacre.
-participators of the purge become unhinged and lose all sense of their own mortality. (Sure, psychopaths can do this, but not supposed mentally stable people)
-When in danger, split up in the gigantic house. It always works in Scooby Doo.
-Oh yeah, have your untrained family of 4 shoot back at the swarm of bad guys. DEFINITELY listen to your terrified son and wife who think sacrificing the homeless guy in order to prevent their unspeakably violent deaths is too hard for them to swallow.

This is a sincere question I have though:
Are there actually ridiculously wealthy people out there who get so jealous of their wealthier haughty neighbors that they want nothing more than to savagely mutilate the entire family?

[–] InspectorPuncher 8 years ago

The guy that lives across the street from me had a garage sale. I bought some stuff from him. Now he had a new lawn mower. I really think his kids deserve to die...

[–] ellipsisms 8 years ago

Agree with all of it, but about your last point: like I said in another thread, these people are rich and entitled. They truly think they deserve the Universe and beyond and if someone has something better/more than them they feel it's their right to take it away. It happens in real life all the time, maybe not to this extreme but you see rich people getting away with rape, murder and other crimes just because they can and they feel entitled to it. Those people were petty and jealous and they felt like someone was richer and had a bigger house than theirs so their dominance was challenged. Plus, it seems like the family's fortune was a recent thing and elitists find that threatening.
Also, Purge Night seems to have brainwashed them to the point where killing is not such a big deal anymore on that one night, it's like a game they play or a Halloween night where instead of knocking to get candy they knock to kill. When people become this desensitized we can't expect them to think like us, that murder is wrong and there is no reason in the world to do it.

[–] jason_13 8 years ago

Also, Purge Night seems to have brainwashed them to the point where killing is not such a big deal anymore on that one night, it's like a game they play or a Halloween night where instead of knocking to get candy they knock to kill. When people become this desensitized we can't expect them to think like us, that murder is wrong and there is no reason in the world to do it.

Sorry, what? That's not how the human mind works. You can't simply adjust your morals and emotions to a murdering routine like you're asking for candy on Halloween, unless you're an actual psychopath in which case Purge Night is meaningless. (The crime statistic, BTW is laughable. Do serial killers and gangsters disappear? What are they doing for the rest of the year and how has law enforecement reduced the percentage to, LOL, 1?! For both serial killers and gang members Purge Night is just a bonus. There is no way they can live peacefully for 364 *beep* days.)

It's ultimately the movie's greatest flaw. It doesn't deal with the psychological part of murder. They're presenting it almost like masturbating - you carry anger, then the law provides you with an opportunity to release it by killing a person you hate and then move on with your life. It doesn't work like that, it's not only the law that most people have problem with when it comes to murder. Do the characters in this fictional world just carry on with their everyday life? How do they even socialize with co-workers and friends who are against murder, like the Sandin family. What, the latter type is supposed to silently pretend there isn't a murderer sitting next to them. Employers keep bad employees just because of fear and yet the economy is in an all-time high? That makes zero sense.

Besides, none of the Sandins seemed to be "desensitized", infact their initial fake routine behaviour is what caused a giant hole in their plan for the night which led to fatal consequences.

It's just a ridiculous concept that provides for an entertaining, but ultimately mediocre thriller with a childish, illogical ending where the homeless man displays moral & physical heroism against the souless rich folks who were about to kill little kids for literally no reason.
Believe it or not, having an idea is not that big of a deal in the writing process. Ideas come from everywhere. Actually developing it into something meaningful or, in this case, bearing at least vague resemblance to basic human behaviour, is much harder.