In an America wracked by crime and overcrowded prisons, the government has sanctioned an annual 12-hour period in which any and all criminal activity-including murder-becomes legal. The police can't be called. Hospitals suspend help. It's one night when the citizenry regulates itself without thought of punishment. Summary by Universal Pictures.
"David? You promised me you'd install the WestStar System this year. It's one week until The Purge and you haven't done anything that I can see. I know companies that sell and install them are booked solid so this means you haven't taken care of it, have you?"
"Relax, honey. We'll be just fine. We have the BenCore I System and it's more than adequate. Besides, no one ever bothers us here and just statistically speaking, there's almost no chance anyone will."
Rachel was fuming. She'd repeatedly told her husband of four years that The Purge paralyzed her with fear. She started to get that sick-to-your-stomach feeling every year six months in advance, and it only got worse as the day approached. Every other woman she knew had the same concerns and fears as she did, and all of them who had the financial resources took every precaution available to remain safe during the night of mayhem. During the annual event, one literally locked oneself inside one's home and hopefully, inside a panic room and hoped. One hoped there was nothing powerful enough to penetrate its defenses but after last year's close call, she could have strangled him for trying to claim there was only a small chance they could be targeted.
Until last year, that had been the case, when Purge supporters had funded an ultra-powerful laser beam that could easily penetrate even the BenCore I model, and that thought sent chills through Rachel Adams.
As with computer viruses and anti-virus programs, there was a constant war being waged by those intent on overcoming any new security system and those designing them. BenCore built what was the state-of-the-art system three years ago and it was considered impregnable until last year's Purge when morning-after footage showed what happened to three different families that had entrusted their lives to the BenCore I. One clip was particularly disturbing as it showed a man who'd been brutally murdered while his wife was gang raped by two men who'd repeatedly promised to 'take her by force' during the last two purges. Everyone knew exactly who did it, but because everything was legal during The Purge, no crime had been committed.
Yes, only a small number of the powerful new lasers had been sold in the city, but the fact that even one of them was out there frightened Rachel to her core. She and her husband couldn't afford a WestStar system outright, but they could afford to finance one. Her husband was reluctant for one reason—money. Because the cost was so high, it would take them years to pay it off and they still owed roughly one-third of the cost of the BenCore model he'd had installed after they were married and moved into their first home. Unlike cars, trade-ins just didn't happen with security systems. To him, it was a matter of dollars and cents. To Rachel, it was a matter of life and death or as in the case of the woman she'd see on television, a fate worse than death. And quite honestly—her sanity.
She loved David and outside of the yearly battle they had over self-defense measures during The Purge, they were ideally suited for one another. He was 27 and worked as an engineer for the City of Los Angeles while Rachel was 25 and made very good money as a local model. She regularly got work doing local advertisements for companies which used her in spots on television and in city newspapers. Her beautiful, smiling face was on hundreds of city busses and a number of billboards throughout the metro area. She'd never been able to break out of the LA market, but she was okay with that as Los Angeles had always been home.
Her looks were a blessing in the sense they brought in a lot of work and a lot of money. They had also allowed her to find a guy as good-looking as David Adams who'd won her heart over the long line of other interested men she'd either dated or turned down over the years. Yet those same looks were a curse when it came to her notoriety. It was illegal to threaten anyone with violence prior to The Purge, but it was very easy to make one's intentions known in such a way as to make prosecution impossible.
Rachel routinely received those kinds of threats delivered in very subtle ways. Over the years, numerous men she'd met would see her and point at her with their index finger and raised thumb to indicate they wanted to kill her. Others would discreetly thrust their hips as they looked at her indicating a desire to rape her during The Purge. She knew this happened to virtually every woman in some way, but that knowledge did nothing to mitigate the fear she felt every time it happened. And after watching the video of that poor woman being so brutally rape, it made her previously irrational fears seem very rational indeed.
She decided not say anything else to David but rather to stop by The Security Store on her way home from work and see if there was any way to get a WestStar Premium installed at this late date. She shivered when she thought of being told 'no' even though she was pretty sure there was little-to-no chance she could be scheduled at this late date.
As she entered the store, it was getting close to 9pm, the time when the store closed. She hoped she'd have enough time to make it to the counter and hopefully order a new system. Even though it was late, she took a quick look around hoping to avoid Ryan Carter, who'd worked there for at least the last five years that she knew of. Ryan was a nice enough guy and he was actually pretty good-looking. It was just that Rachel was happily married and Ryan appeared to have some kind of obsession with her. Maybe that was too strong a word as Rachel knew she had a tendency to overreact and read something into a look or a comment that wasn't necessarily there when it came to her security. Even so, she did her best to avoid him whenever possible on those rare occasions when she came to the store.
Ryan had never actually asked her out or even directly hit on her, but he was just way too...helpful...for her comfort. She had no proof he was stalking her, but she felt certain she'd seen him at several photo or commercial shoots over the last two years, lurking just out of view. The guy she'd seen each of those times wore sunglasses and a ball cap and she'd only gotten a glimpse of him each time, but after the fifth such incident, it began to really creep her out. No, he'd never come around during any Purge and she had no rational reason to fear him. Then again, overlooking any potential threat, no matter how small, could be a fatal mistake.
Not seeing him anywhere, she walked toward the WestStar counter and was very unhappy to see a dozen people in line ahead of her. She was wearing sunglasses and a floppy hat herself just in case, but deep down she knew it was a very flimsy disguise. Ryan Carter looked like a lot of other guys. Rachel Adams looked like very few other women. After ten minutes, she'd moved up six places in line. She busied herself with her smart phone checking messages and emails while keeping an eye out for Ryan.
She'd lost track of the time when she heard a voice announce, "Ladies and gentleman, The Security Store will be closing in ten minutes." She panicked as she realized there was no way she'd get to the counter by 9 o'clock and hoped they would just allow anyone in line to stay.
As she looked up to check the line again, she saw him. He walked to the front of the line and began counting as he pointed at people in line. "One, two, three, four, and...five." She was number six. Ryan said, "I'm sorry, folks. Everyone from here back will need to leave as we can only take these last five customers tonight."
