Blumhouse Productions and Universal Pictures have released the first official trailer forThe First Purge. This is the fourth film in the popular horror franchise, which began in 2013 with filmmakerJames DeMonaco’s twist on a home invasion thriller: in the world ofThe Purge, one night a year in America all crime is legal, including murder. This premise was twisted further in the next two films, but nowThe Purge 4serves as a prequel, showing us how this all began.
Gerald McMurray, the director behind last year’sBurning Sandsand associate producer onFruitvale Station, steps into the director’s chair this time around, marking the first time DeMonaco has vacated that seat. He still wrote the script for this prequel, which boasts a fresh ensemble cast that includesY’Lan Noel,Lex Scott Davis,Joivan Wade, Luna Lauren VelezandMarisa Tomei.
It’s clear pretty early that this prequel has a mostly African-American cast, which already sets it apart from the other threePurgemovies. It’ll be interesting to see if the film delves into racial politics at all, since some of the imagery evokes the Black Lives Matter movement, but it also appears that DeMonaco has developed a pretty politically-minded origin story for the Purge regardless, with the U.S. government sending in soldiers disguised as citizens to carry out crime during this inaugural event.
Check out theFirst Purgetrailer below along with some debut images.The First Purgeopens in theaters on July 4th.
Here’s the official synopsis forThe First Purge:
Behind every tradition lies a revolution. Next Independence Day, witness the rise of our country’s 12 hours of annual lawlessness. Welcome to the movement that began as a simple experiment:The First Purge.
To push the crime rate below one percent for the rest of the year, the New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA) test a sociological theory that vents aggression for one night in one isolated community. But when the violence of oppressors meets the rage of the marginalized, the contagion will explode from the trial-city borders and spread across the nation.
Coming off the most successful film in the series,The Purge: Election Year, creator James DeMonaco (writer/director ofThe Purge,The Purge: AnarchyandThe Purge: Election Year) returns alongside the producers of this worldwide phenomenon: Blumhouse Productions’ Jason Blum (Insidiousseries,Get Out,Split), Platinum Dunes partners Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form (Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesandOuijaseries,The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), and DeMonaco’s longtime production partner, Sébastien K. Lemercier (Assault on Precinct 13,Four Lovers).
