[Abrasive Purge Siren Sounds] "This is your emergency broadcast system announcing the commencement of the Annual Purge sanctioned by the U.S. Government. Weapons of class 4 and lower have been authorized..."
Through all of the last decade The Purge franchise did very well for itself as an underdog franchise overflowing with social commentary about racism, class warfare, and religious fanaticism as a method of fascistic control. At face value it's a horror franchise about human beings given an outlet to express animalistic violence but underneath (and not very far underneath, mind you) it's a dark mirror being held up to our own society, imagining a possible dystopia ruled by a white supremacist political party.
Creator/writer/director James DeMonaco, along with horror producers Blumhouse and Platinum Dunes, imagines a not-so-distant future where violence is romanticized, worshipped, and ultimately used as a tool to slowly eliminate the poor from America. On a micro level, the annual "Purge" is for people to commit both random acts of violence or targeted acts of revenge but on the macro level it serves as a weapon wielded by the government to massacre marginalized communities.
And The Purge franchise explores all of this: from the simple home invasion to a city gone mad with chaos to the power brokers involved in manipulating the system. The Purge, as an ongoing series, is a horror show and conspiracy thriller rolled into one. The Forever Purge, the fifth film overall, which came out in 2021 was intended to be the final movie...but never say never in Hollywood. DeMonaco has mentioned that he's got another idea left to truly bring the series to a close.
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How Many Purge Movies Are There?
There are a total of five Purge movies to date and one TV series, which ran for two seasons and is canon within the Purge-verse. One of the Purge films (in fact, the most successful one), is a prequel, The First Purge, which brings everything back to the start of the Purge experiment before it becomes a nationwide event.
Given that there's this prequel and also a full TV series, here's the correct chronological order to watch The Purge franchise.
The Purge Movies and TV Series in (Chronological) Order
1. The First Purge (2018)
Taking place in an alternate 2014 (the dates and times of Purge films get less specific as the series moves forward), The First Purge follows the New Founding Fathers of America as they use Staten Island as the testing grounds for their grand "Purge" experiment, with successful results meaning they can bring it to the rest of America. A local gang leader (Y'lan Noel) teams with his ex, an anti-Purge activist (Lex Scott Davis), to defend their neighborhood once they realize the game is rigged and violent white supremacists are being let into the burrough to kill minorities. Marisa Tomei also stars as the NFFA sociologist who created the Purge. With three Purge movies already in the tank, this one was the first not directed by James DeMonaco.
Read IGN's review of The First Purge here.
2. The Purge (2013)
It all began with Ethan Hawke, Game of Thrones' Lena Headey, and a meager $3 million dollar budget. The Purge introduced us to 2022 Purge America in a very focused way, through a rich family that's made a fortune off security systems, specifically for The Purge, who finds their home attacked by a Purge posse when they give shelter to a fleeing homeless man targeted for death. It's a tight, scary home invasion flick that made for an excellent jumping off point for future films to expand the Purge world and dig into important topics.
Read IGN's review of The Purge here.
3. The Purge: Anarchy (2014)
Bringing things out of the home and into the big city, Los Angeles, The Purge: Anarchy follows several characters on one fated Purge Night in 2023, a year after the first movie. An off-duty cop (Frank Grillo) determined to commit a very specific murder, a lost couple (Zach Gilford and Kiele Sanchez), and a waitress (Carmen Ejogo) trying to protect her family from government goons sweeping through low-income housing all cross paths and discover just how much the Purge favors the rich and privileged.
Read IGN's review of The Purge: Anarchy here.
4. The Purge TV Series (2018–19)
The years get a bit tricky here but we know that the Purge TV series takes place between The Purge: Anarchy and The Purge: Election year, with a big time jump in between seasons. The first season follows characters on the night of the 10th annual Purge, in 2027 and then Season 2 picks things up during the year between two Purges (2036 and 2037). The series was an awesome way to really dig into the world of the Purge, with each season delivering new characters and storylines. And the way Season 2 ends, it saddles up nicely to the events in Election Year, which take place in 2040.
The idea for the third season that never happened was a worldwide Purge, many years later, but that concept might be used now for a sixth Purge film.
Read IGN's review of The Purge series premiere.
5. The Purge: Election Year (2016)
By 2040, Purge America had actually had it with the New Founding Fathers and Purge Night (see events of The Purge: Season 2) and an anti-Purge presidential candidate, Charlie Roan (Lost's Elizabeth Mitchell), is on the cusp of being elected. As the NFFA makes her an official Purge Night target (and Frank Grillo returns as his character from Anarchy, now the Chief of Security for Charlie) she meets up with a shop owner and his employee, a roaming EMT, and the Purge resistance movement in a move to thwart the fascists from stealing the presidency. And her life.
Read IGN's review of The Purge: Election Year here.
6. The Forever Purge (2021)
Jumping eight years later, the NFFA has regained the presidential office and has brought back Purge Night, truly naive to how explosively racist the country has become since President Roan's victory. For The Forever Purge, directed by Everardo Valerio Gout, we follow the story down to a Texas ranch town where a sect of Purgers have decided that The Purge will no longer just be confined to one night a year. It will have no end and the violence will never roll back. A rancher and his pregnant wife (Sweet Home Alabama's Josh Lucas and Longmire's Cassidy Freeman) team up with a married migrant couple (Army of the Dead's Ana de la Reguera and Wakanda Forever's Tenoch Huerta) in a desperate attempt to cross the border into Mexico.
Read IGN's review of The Forever Purge here.
How to Watch the Purge Franchise by Release Date
If you're looking to watch all the movies in theatrical release order, the correct list is below:
- The Purge (2013)
- The Purge: Anarchy (2014)
- The Purge: Election Year (2016)
- The First Purge (2018)
- The Purge TV Series (2018–19)
- The Forever Purge (2021)
Future of The Purge Movies
The Purge franchise has no plans of slowing down anytime soon, as it appears an idea for a sixth film has been pitched by franchise creator James DeMonaco. Per an interview with Collider, DeMonaco shared that he has an idea in mind for a sixth film, explaining that "6 is about the remapping of America based on ideology, sexuality, and religion, so that the states are broken down." Though it's not been confirmed yet, with DeMonaco stating in an interview with The Playlist that "Universal has seen it, [...] There are concerns about budget," it's still worth keeping on your radar.
Matt Fowler is a freelance entertainment writer/critic, covering TV news, reviews, interviews and features on IGN for 13+ years.
