The First Purge
Added How We Rate
- Directed by
- Gerard McMurray
- Written by
- James DeMonaco
- Produced by
- James DeMonaco, Steven R. Molen, Couper Samuelson, Jeanette Volturno, Andrew Form, Brad Fuller, Sébastien K. Lemercier, Michael Bay, Jason Blum
Why it’s HorroRated
Who gets pushed into the crosshairs when the powerful decide to run an experiment? This prequel asks that question with genuine anger, putting the people treated as test subjects at the center and giving the series its most pointed politics. Y'lan Noel makes a charismatic new lead, Lex Scott Davis supplies the story's heart, and Gerard McMurray brings a fresh, propulsive energy to the action. The allegory is anything but delicate and a few characters exist only to fire guns, yet the night moves fast and the satire hits harder than you might expect. Start here if you want the franchise's backstory delivered with a punch.
Synopsis
Before the Purge became a national ritual, it started as a test, and The First Purge (2018) dramatizes that trial run on Staten Island, where the ruling New Founding Fathers pay residents to stay for twelve hours without laws. Gerard McMurray, who previously made the Sundance drama Burning Sands, directed the prequel from James DeMonaco's script, making it the first Purge film DeMonaco did not direct himself. Y'lan Noel plays the local kingpin Dmitri, Lex Scott Davis is Nya, an activist watching out for her younger brother Isaiah (Joivan Wade), and Marisa Tomei plays the sociologist who designed the experiment. Origin story and siege thriller at once, it unfolds in apartment towers, churches and city streets.
Filed under
Where to watch The First Purge
- Subscription
- Peacock
- Rent or buy
- Prime Video · Apple TV · YouTube · Google Play · Fandango at Home
Streaming in the US changes often. Listings from JustWatch via TMDB, checked October 27, 2026.See every option
Quick facts
- Release date
- July 4, 2018
- Runtime
- 1 hour 37 mins
- Country
- United States of America
- Language
- English
- Content rating
- R
- Entry type
- Movie
Content notes
- Mass shootings and street killings
- Strong language
Tags
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