Ana de la Reguera – Smaller Pictures

The Forever Purge (2021)

Another film that was postponed thanks to the pandemic was The Forever Purge. Written by series creator James DeMonaco and directed by Everado Gout, The Forever Purge has been released as the latest in The Purge series. The film follows the events of the third film, The Purge: Election Year and sees the NFFA back in power and the purge reinstated. However, things don’t go to plan and a large uprising across the US decide to implement the “forever purge” and do not stop purging after the sirens have sounded. The Purge franchise is one with a large fan base and has done well financially because of how entertaining and imaginative they are while still bringing in real issues. The Forever Purge in particular feels especially appropriate for the times we live in. If you haven’t caught up on the franchise, I have done a review and ranking of the previous films which you can read here.

What The Purge series does so well is how it incorporates real social issues into the context of the films and The Forever Purge is no exception. Showing the purge from the point of view of Mexican illegal immigrants, we see the casual racism and cruel treatment that they are subjected to as people of colour and immigrants are tracked down and killed for their background. Gout’s direction is unflinching and fantastic by clearly highlighting the differences between the affluent Tucker residence owned by a rich white family and the livelihood of their employees which includes Juan and T.T, immigrants who had to escape Mexico due to rising Cartel violence and how their security differs when the purge commences. DeMonaco’s script helps to accommodate this as he asks questions on whether the American Dream really exists. Where we see Juan and Adela flee their native Mexico and illegally enter the US as they believe they can achieve their American Dream, they are forced to try and reenter Mexico with the Tuckers when Mexico’s borders are opened for a limited time for those seeking to escape the violence. These topics of identity, social and class status are often major issues explored in The Purge films but the geographical shift sees how the event has started to grow beyond its native country.

Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta is great in the leading role as Juan. Having to deal with racism on a smaller scale in his job, he soon learns that there is a larger problem as there is systemic killings across the US with people of colour and immigrants targeted specifically. Like other main characters in The Purge films, we don’t delve deeply into Juan’s background beyond the fact that he escaped from Mexico and is trying to make an honest living in Texas but it doesn’t really matter in a film like this and it allows for a lot of surprises and freedom in the script. There are some scenes where Huerta really shines including the sudden death of a friend in which we see that dramatic range come into play. Ana de la Reguera is also great as Juan’s wife, Adela, who isn’t afraid to confront and battle alongside Juan to protect the group. The performances from both Huerta and Reguera are among the best that the whole franchise have to offer and contribute to this being one of the strongest instalments that The Purge has to offer.

In support, Josh Lucas plays the affluent Dylan Tucker who runs the family ranch and his character is given a bit more background than we’re used to from supporting characters. It’s clear from his first few scenes that Dylan has racist opinions and treats his Mexican workers differently from others as well as dismissing the idea that his daughter should learn Spanish. However, The Forever Purge shows the progression in Dylan’s character as he begins to rely on the whole group and his judgements begin to fade. What the script does well is ensure that it is done naturally and not clumsily exposed in a way that feels inauthentic.

The Forever Purge was supposed to be the last in the franchise but producer Jason Blum plans to explore the stories of other characters we’ve come across in previous films. We have seen The Purge look into issues of race and class before but this film brings it to a post-Trump era. In a world where the gap between poor and rich grows more and extremism becomes more integrated into the media and mainstream society, films like The Forever Purge are important as they hold that mirror to society and present the consequences of a fractured society and aren’t afraid to ask questions.

What did you think of The Forever Purge? Let me know in the comments below!

The Forever Purge is available to see in cinemas now!

Army of the Dead (2021)

One of the biggest releases this weekend was Zack Snyder’s zombie blockbuster, Army of the Dead which made it’s way to Netflix on Friday. After his success with his Dawn of the Dead remake in 2004 (the original of which is arguably the best zombie film of all time), it was great to hear that Snyder was returning to the apocalypse on an even bigger scale. Boasting an all star cast and a unique concept, Army of the Dead sees Las Vegas overrun by zombies who are swiftly contained within the area. The survivors who managed to escape the containment are approached by a casino owner who gives them the task of getting back into Vegas to his casino and getting $200 million that has been stored in its underground vault before Vegas is nuked by the government. The survivors, led by Scott (Dave Bautista) have to face zombies that have super speed and strength while also facing an intense countdown.

Army of the Dead was greenlit in 2007 but faced a series of problems in pre-production before Netflix bought the rights in 2019. Unfortunately, a lot films that experience development hell for long periods of time like Army of the Dead suffer due to constant rewrites and differing directorial visions. This seems to be the case with the film. While the concept and basic idea has a lot of promise, the actual execution seems to clash in a lot of ways which causes the pacing of the script and characterisation to suffer. We see the initial outbreak take place over a ten minute montage at the beginning followed by forty minutes of set up before we even revisit the site. While setting up a plot isn’t a bad thing by any means, it feels as though the introductions for each character are too brief and not characterised enough, especially Scott.

In the leading role of Scott, Dave Bautista does a great job bringing that action star quality to the film. He does the best with the material written and his chemistry with the other survivors, especially his friend, Maria Cruz (Ana de la Reguera). Where the film fails Bautista’s character is the way they try to push his relationship with his estranged daughter, Kate (Ella Purnell). Sadly, it feels like the dialogue between them is artificially forced whereas there is a much more natural chemistry between Scott and Maria so having more scenes between them would have enhanced their characterisation and made the film that much stronger

With a huge cast, it’s inevitable that not everyone is going to get the same amount of attention or screentime which can affect the characterisation. The most controversial being Tig Notaro’s character, Marianne, who has her main bulk of screentime in the final act of the film as the character had to be recast during filming which meant that they only had limited time with Notaro. Considering Marianne is the pilot who is tasked with getting the group in and out of Vegas, she definitely would have been in it more was Notaro cast in the role from the very beginning. What we do see from Notaro is great and she brings her signature deadpan delivery which makes the final scenes of the film really enjoyable to watch. Another great supporting turn is from Matthias Schweighöfer who plays locksmith expert, Dieter, whose job is to break into the safe. As one of the smaller characters in the ensemble, it wasn’t expected that he would be given a lot of characterisation beyond the basics or screentime but what we do see is great. Schweighöfer’s performance is charismatic and funny, bringing a lighter touch to the film.

When watching a zombie film, the most important aspect is the design and special effects involved. This is definitely a plus for the film as the zombies are a similar design from Snyder’s remake Dawn of the Dead making it believable that it could be within the same universe. At the same time, there are more unique inclusions such as a zombie tiger as well as some comical touches such as a zombie Elvis who is featured in the montage at the beginning. It feels as though there is a lighthearted approach to some of the ideas while still maintaining the gore level expected from such a film.

Overall, Army of the Dead is a film that is full of interesting ideas and if you are a fan of zombie flicks, it’s definitely worth a watch. However, it seems that there is tightness missing from the story as the pacing suffers badly while the two and a half hour running time could have easily been cut down to create a better viewing experience. It would be great to see if this film receives a sequel that furthers the story and hopefully brings a sharper focus to the characters and the writing. In the meantime, there is a prequel and an anime series in the works that will look into the characters before and during the events of Army of the Dead so hopefully, we’ll get to know the characters a lot better.

What did you think of Army of the Dead? Let me know in the comments below!

Army of the Dead is available to watch on Netflix now!