The First Purge
Universal Pictures | Release Date: July 4, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
54
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 39 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
20
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Washington PostAlan ZilbermanJul 4, 2018
The result is an unabashedly violent B-movie throwback, the sort director John Carpenter used to make, with moments that resonate with real life. Read full review
83
UproxxVince ManciniJul 4, 2018
It still has the scary masks and jump-scares, but whether through its creators’ cleverness or current events, it is now disturbing on a much deeper level. The social commentary no longer feels like fake sloganeering. Read full review
81
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiJul 3, 2018
The First Purge completely earns its action-packed and rousing finale, but getting there certainly takes a while. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineHenry StewartJul 3, 2018
Especially early on, Gerard McMurray often rejects the exhibitionist slaughter that James DeMonaco established as the Purge series’s modus operandi in favor of violence that’s rawer and realer. Read full review
75
ConsequenceRandall ColburnJul 3, 2018
The First Purge is every bit as nakedly, hysterically symbolic as its predecessors. But if there’s one thing that the current political climate is teaching us, it’s that a subtle touch isn’t always the solution. Read full review
75
IndieWireEric KohnJul 3, 2018
The First Purge is another absurd B-movie, uneven and ludicrous across the board, but altogether transfixing for the way it funnels Trump-era terror into an empowering crowdpleaser. Read full review
70
Village VoiceBilge EbiriJul 5, 2018
The First Purge actually pulls back somewhat on that sense of bloodthirsty anticipation. The violence here feels more tragic than ever, and it’s also some time coming; when Purge Night does start, the killing doesn’t begin immediately. Read full review
70
Film ThreatDante JamesJul 4, 2018
As far as “summer movies” go, this one is a ride that’s worth taking, and will not leave you disappointed! It’s fun, and it’ll make you think, so what more can you really ask for? Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesMark OlsenJul 4, 2018
It’s not difficult to decipher where McMurray and DeMonaco’s true allegiances are, but by delivering the story within the framework of genre cinema at its most trashy and garish, the filmmakers convey any message as a bit of rough pleasure amid the kicks and thrills of a movie. Read full review
68
Paste MagazineAndrew CrumpJul 5, 2018
At its best The First Purge functions like a much-reduced Purge movie retread. It’s not that it’s bad, really. It’s that we’ve seen this before. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerJul 4, 2018
So four episodes in, and The Purge franchise is as nakedly provocative as ever. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Jul 4, 2018
Wringing genre thrills from headline atrocities, The First Purge is at once crass and provocative in its timeliness—in Blumhouse’s toolshed, it’s the sledgehammer to Get Out’s scalpel. Read full review
65
Vanity FairK. Austin CollinsJul 4, 2018
The First Purge is very clearly nonsense, and it’s not ashamed of that—nor should it be. Every so often, that nonsense stumbles into a surprising idea, a striking image, or something else worth clinging to when you leave the theater. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJul 3, 2018
The latest “Purge” is an erratic, fairly absorbing and righteously angry prequel. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJul 3, 2018
Boiling off the divisive political subtext and its associated sociological aspects, what we’re left with is an old-fashioned exploitation thriller. Seen in that context, The First Purge isn’t half-bad. It’s competently made, delivers its share of thrills and edge-of-the-seat moments, and gives the audience an opportunity to stand up and cheer. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreJul 3, 2018
The most politically potent sci-fi/horror film series since the early years of George A. Romero gets a bloody, visceral and yes, emotional prequel with The First Purge, the movie that tells how we got from “here” to “there.” Read full review
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