The Purge: Election Year

The Purge: Election Year is currently streaming on Netflix and Crave, and its case-by-case structure never gets in the way of the bigger story. It knows exactly what kind of film it is from the opening scene, and never loses that thread. With 5,530 viewer ratings on TMDB, this is not a title flying under the radar. Elizabeth Mitchell's performance alone is worth the time investment. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Netflix.

The Purge: Election Year arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. The plotting gives The Purge: Election Year its backbone, but it is the characters you come back for. Two years after choosing not to kill the man who killed his son, former police sergeant Leo Barnes has become head of security for Senator Charlene Roan, the front runner in the next Presidential election due to her vow to eliminate the Purge. On the night of what should be the final Purge, a betrayal from within the government forces Barnes and Roan out onto the street where they must fight to survive the night. The writing gets a boost from Elizabeth Mitchell and Frank Grillo, who sell every scene they're in. The Purge: Election Year came out in 2016. What distinguishes the best crime dramas from the rest is whether the character work can carry scenes where the mystery takes a breath — The Purge: Election Year passes that test consistently. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

Viewers who think they have seen every crime drama tend to find The Purge: Election Year proves them wrong. It stands on its own even without an obvious comparison point. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Elizabeth Mitchell's performance is the kind that shows up on best-of lists years later. If you have been looking for something to fill the gap left by a recently finished story, this is a reliable answer.