Great start to the series! Great set and minimal acting.

A good story line and trailer is better than the movie itself. But afraid it will create more hatred if people keep in their emotions for 364.5 days and releasing beast for 12hrs. How can they be true other time? Messages about morals - yes works wellBunch of psychopaths roaming the streets - No control, no limits on what they do on streets. We can wonder if our civilized society behaves like this for this clock ticker. Final twist gives a huge applause, this can be nail biting and nothing expected by general audience.

It's simply hard to believe that several people gave this the green light. The premise is the stupidest ever. Nothing makes any sense from there. A complete, irritating waste of time.

The story and it's context is interesting to a point of WHAT if ANYTHING the government would allow. This would be like a programmed consensus of population control by means of everyday citizens committing the purge or cleanse of murdering others. I did "say" the context was interesting but fails miserably as plausible. There are a lot of mistakes and fails with this film. The acting as a whole is absolutely trying on the audience. I like Ethan Hawke, but hell, he couldn't even save this film. The main catalyst of the film (Hawke) is a security systems sales analyst, and in the film his fails as the power is down. Wouldn't ya think with his position there is a back up plan as he sells these. I feel this film is just a ploy on what ifs. Hell it did spurn 3 sequels. I give it a modest 4