Frank Grillo is set to lock horns with Chris Evans’ star-spangled hero in Captain America: Civil War later this year, but before that, the action veteran will be battling a much darker twist on American propaganda in The Purge: Election Year.
In today’s first trailer, we see Elizabeth Mitchell’s (Lost) budding Senator Charlie Rowan campaigning to bring an end to the country’s annual barbarism after it tore apart her own family. Grillo, meanwhile, returns as Sergeant Leo and Rowan’s new head of security, as they both prepare to batten down the hatches for another 24-hours of unlawful terror.
Retaining the cult franchise’s knack for social commentary, The Purge: Election Year is shaping up to align nicely with the ongoing presidential campaigns gripping the US of A. Three films in, it remains to be seen if the series can still pull in an audience with its intoxicating mix of violence and psychological horror; for perspective, the 2013 original and Anarchy scored $90 million and $110 million, respectively, meaning Election Year will have its work cut out of its to emulate the success of its predecessors. Still, with its gleeful spin on political extremism run amok, we imagine the threequel will have no trouble stealing headlines in the current climate.
Wearing its political satire firmly on its blood-soaked sleeve, The Purge: Election Year is set for an opportune Independence Day release window of July 4.
Expanding the universe introduced in the hit franchise that electrified the culture and earned $200 million at the worldwide box office, Universal Pictures’ The Purge: Election Year reveals the next terrifying chapter that occurs over 12 hours of annual lawlessness sanctioned by the New Founders of America to keep this country great.
It’s been two years since Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo) stopped himself from a regrettable act of revenge on Purge Night. Now serving as head of security for Senator Charlie Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell), his mission is to protect her in a run for president and survive the annual ritual that targets the poor and innocent. But when a betrayal forces them onto the streets of D.C. on the one night when no help is available, they must stay alive until dawn…or both be sacrificed for their sins against the state.