"The Purge" manages to be smart …: Smart? How? What is smart about shelter-like walls you can easily rip out of the building with a normal car? What is smart about telling the actors to look suspicious when they're being watched from behind by the enemy? What is smart about not teaching your kid that he tried to save one life (foreigner) but caused another ones (Daddy)? What is smart about running around with your revolver while having a pumpgun or holding it like a lawn trimmer? What is smart about having "the best" security system but not having nightvision goggles or an emergency generator or these battery driven emergency lights (rich?) americans like to have? What is smart about a well tested security system which you can completely evade by using one simple car? I guess a grenade would have destroyed the whole house. And have the people ever heard about a panic room? Too expensive? Not necessary? Sure …

"The Purge" manages to be … scary …: Really? Scary? If you think so go and check if you've lost your balls little princess! If that movie is scary you might also have a thunder buddy like Ted, don't you?!
When I was a teenager the first Scream movie scared me. The second one too but just a bit. The next movie which scared me was The Grey. Everything between was ok but not scary. Why? Because you see it coming.
The "scary" scenes of The Purge were extremely predictable: "Oooh, he has that weird looking. Then someone must be watching him from behind!" – Or the scene the daughter hides below the bed – I remembered Taken and knew they could catch her any second. Nothing happened. "Oooh, she has that weird looking. Then someone must be watching her from behind – especially because you saw him watching her from behind some scenes before!"
Did the "machete to the stomach" scene surprise you? Really? Did you forget that the house was full of enemies, thus behind every corner one of them could wait for you!?!

At least there was ONE good scene: When Daddy spend free headshots to be sure the freaks are 100% dead.

The movie portrayed Daddy as a intelligent and professional security engineer/salesman thus you expect that such a person have an emergency generator, emergency lights or at least nightvision goggles (hey, even that stupid kid had them). You also expect that these steel walls were installed a little bit more professional. It is very unlogical that all his neighbors are so damn stupid that they think this security system is secure – again you can evade it using ONE standard car. What would happen if a crazy guy steals a truck (or owns one) and drives it into that house? I think it would bend … errr … collapse.

And yeah: If you have an intruder run around with your flashlight on so he can see you coming.

Perhaps I hate that movie because I hate dump people. People like the Sandins. Sadly only Daddy died.

Thank you and God Bless

I did like the Utopian society with a dark secret idea, but again, the execution was weak and the character development even weaker. I had similar thoughts to the comments prior to mine: it is Panic Room meets Assault on Precinct 13, but not as riveting, and could use a David Fincher-touch.

Intrigued by this movie. Good marketing campaign, good cast, good concept. The subway ads here in NY are probably the most disturbing – and intriguing – I've seen. They sell you the concept with two solid tag-lines and then let you chew on a visual of a villain doing the "Clockwork Orange" leer. Blumhouse is good at what they do. Thanks for the review – will see.