“The Most Important ‘Purge’ Sequel Changed Hollywood — And Frank Grillo’s Career”

“Two things happened when The Purge: Anarchy opened in 2014.

First, a consensus formed among critics and moviegoers that the film improved on its predecessor, The Purge, by taking its bleak pseudo-dystopian home-invasion template — all crime is legal for one night! — and turning it into an unhinged snapshot of the country’s psyche.

Second, Frank Grillo, the film’s star, likewise went through an abrupt but long-gestating career shift. At the time, Grillo was right on the cusp of a breakthrough moment thanks to noteworthy roles in three movies released between 2011 and 2012: Gavin O’Connor’s Warrior, Joe Carnahan’s The Grey, and David Ayer’s End of Watch. It just so happens the breakthrough came a few years later, under the direction of James DeMonaco, who became genre cinema’s reluctant Nostradamus upon creating the Purge franchise.” (Full feature available at Inverse.)

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