Surprise horror hit The Purge became a signature franchise for Blumhouse Productions, and here's how each of the movies and TV seasons so far ranks. Made for only $3 million, the original Purge movie proved to be a massive success for all involved, earning $89 million worldwide. With that profit, a sequel was inevitable, and each successive entry in the Purge series has managed to outgross its predecessor. More surprising is that each sequel earns as good or better reviews from critics, defying the general downward pattern of franchises.
So successful has The Purge franchise proven to be that Blumhouse was able to spin it off into a The Forever Purge could possibly be the last movie in the series. Then again, horror is full of "final chapters" that ended up being anything but.
With The Forever Purge now in the rearview mirror, it seems like a good time to take stock of the franchise as a whole, in case this is indeed the end. The alarm is now sounding, signifying that for the remainder of this article, it'll be both legal and encouraged to rank the Purge franchise from worst to best.
7. The Purge Season 1 (2018)
The Purge season 1 aired in the USA in 2018 and, for the most part, successfully translated the franchise to the small screen. Critics weren't kind, nothing new for the Purge franchise, though fan response was better, albeit a bit mixed. The Purge season 1 focused on a group of seemingly unrelated people as they set out to either survive Purge Night, participate in it, or offer themselves up to be Purged. After all, some do truly believe in the NFFA cause. One of the biggest problems with season 1 is that the setup gets kind of repetitive, and while the characters' stories do end up connecting, the way that happens isn't anything too surprising. In some ways, season 1 of the Purge TV show feels like an overlong Purge movie. It's not outright bad, but it's the least of the franchise.
6. The Purge (2013)
Obviously, ranking 2013's original The Purge near the bottom of this list is going to inspire outrage from many dedicated fans. To be sure, The Purge's placement here is not an indictment of the film. For what it does, it does it well. What makes The Purge ultimately the least of its franchise's films is its limited scope. While writer/director James DeMonaco successfully introduces the ingenious concept of a 12-hour annual period in which all crime is legal, this first film is basically just a glorified home invasion thriller, something the horror genre is never lacking in. The great lead performances of Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey elevate the material, and the final twist pitting neighbor against neighbor is fun, but every subsequent movie sequel has had more freedom to further explore the Purge's world.
5. The First Purge (2018)
2018's Horror prequels rarely work, as they tend to put a ceiling on what can be accomplished, as everyone watching knows what will occur further along in the timeline. While The First Purge has some interesting things to say about the plight of the poor and the mistreatment of people of color in America's large cities, set as it is on Staten Island, there's never any doubt that the overall Purge night will be a success for the bad guys, as there are many "successful" Purges to come. The First Purge's wasting of Marisa Tomei in a pointless role is also quite suspect. Still, The First Purge is definitely worth a watch for fans.
4. The Purge Season 2 (2019)
The Purge season 2 ended up a big improvement on season 1, and the main reason for that was an injection of creativity. Instead of just retreading the chaos of Purge Night, season 2 opts to focus on the aftermath, telling the stories of characters who survive the night, only to see their lives changed afterward. Some are mentally shaken by the lengths they had to go to in order to survive, while others are wondering why they were targeted, in one case by a hitman. Fans even get a look inside the NFFA ranks, as one of the main characters works for the organization, only to discover that his colleagues seem to be vanishing. While there's still suitable amounts of violence, season 2 of the Purge TV series earns points for going outside the box.
3. The Forever Purge (2021)
While franchise creator James DeMonaco recently teased that there Election Year's upbeat ending is hastily retconned to get things back to the status quo feels lazy, and Forever Purge's racial politics, while relevant and timely, are also a tad on the nose and feel a bit heavy-handed.
2. The Purge: Anarchy (2014)
After The Purge (2013) set the table and established the concept, The Purge: Anarchy brought it to its logical evolution, trading a single claustrophobic setting for an entire city under siege. The Purge: Anarchy also introduces a proper hero for the franchise in Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo), who isn't a perfect man, but is a kind, ethical person at heart, and does his best to protect those less capable of defending themselves from attack. While released only a year later, Anarchy feels very different to its progenitor, dwarfing it in sheer scale, offering many more characters to root for and against, and becoming even more tense.
1. The Purge: Election Year (2016)
Perfectly timed for release in the same year of one of America's most divided presidential elections in modern history, The Purge: Election Year went a long way in revealing just how the New Founding Fathers of America were able to gain the power they needed to institute The Purge, ideas that would be further explored in The First Purge. Election Year makes it clear that much of the real goal of Purge night is culling the population of those the ruling class would consider undesirable, freeing up more resources for those left. While anti-Purge politician Charlie Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell) ended the film by winning the presidency with the help of Leo Barnes, that victory was revealed to be sadly fleeting in The Forever Purge.
Is The Purge 6 Happening? Everything We Know
The status of a possible Purge 6 movie has been hard to pin down for a long time now. Prior to the release of The Forever Purge, series creator James DeMonaco had said that he intended that fifth entry to conclude the franchise. Since then though, DeMonaco has confirmed he's written a script for a Purge 6, and Blumhouse boss Jason Blum has said that he's interested in continuing the Purge franchise with DeMonaco. Yet, as of October 2021, Blum cautioned fans that a Purge 6 wasn't officially in the works yet, despite the script already being completed.
For his part, DeMonaco has confirmed that his Purge 6 centers on Leo Barnes, the heroic character played by actor Frank Grillo (Crossbones/Brock Rumlow in the MCU) in The Purge: Anarchy and The Purge: Election Year. Barnes didn't appear in The First Purge or The Forever Purge, so this would mark his return from a lengthy absence. Grillo has said he's on board to reprise the role as well, in a plot set 10 years after The Forever Purge that sees the Purge phenomenon finally having spread outside of North America. Unfortunately for fans of the Purge TV show, that branch of the franchise looks to be permanently discontinued. Considering how successful the Purge movies have been for Blumhouse and Universal though, it seems like basically a lock that The Purge 6 will eventually move into official production.
