The Purge: Election Year
All team (148)
Short description
The Purge: Election Year is a 2016 action horror thriller written and directed by James DeMonaco, the third film in the Purge series following The Purge (2013) and The Purge: Anarchy (2014), and later preceding The Home (2025) in his filmography. Set in a near-future America where an annual twelve-hour period makes all crime, including murder, legal, it follows former police sergeant Leo Barnes, who now heads security for Senator Charlie Roan. Roan is campaigning for the presidency on a promise to end the Purge, which makes her a target for those who profit from it; after being betrayed from inside the government, she and Barnes are left stranded in Washington, D.C., on Purge night. Elizabeth Mitchell and Frank Grillo lead the cast, with Mykelti Williamson, Betty Gabriel, J. J. Soria and Raymond J. Barry in supporting roles. Michael Bay, Andrew Form and Bradley Fuller produced.
The film was made for a modest 10 million dollars and earned about 119 million worldwide, a return consistent with the commercial strength of the series. Audience response has been middling: on IMDb it holds 6 out of 10 from roughly 119,000 votes, while on TMDB it rates 6.4 out of 10 from around 5,600 votes. A critics' rating of 5.4 out of 10, drawn from 163 reviews, places it below both audience scores. With 109 minutes of runtime and 66 credited cast members supported by 148 credited crew, it is a comparatively lean production that leans on its premise and two central performances rather than scale. Its cross-border financing, uniting American, French and Japanese companies, reflects the international reach the franchise had built by its third instalment.
What's left behind the scenes
- The events depicted in the film unfold in March 2025.
- Filming took place in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.
- James DeMonaco wrote the screenplays and directed all films in the franchise, which is rare in the horror genre.
- The shotgun carried by Laney is a Serbu Super-Shorty.
- Each element of the franchise has been commercially more successful than the previous one. This is rare for horror films.
- The first film in the franchise where the siren signaling the end of The Purge is not heard.
- Edwin Hodge is the only actor to appear in all three films of the franchise. His character dies in the final film.
- All the characters depicted on the film's posters die as the plot progresses.
- When the main heroine, who is tied up, is brought into the church, it can be noticed that the gag in her mouth appears and disappears.
- Originally, it was intended to be a prequel to James DeMonaco's 'The Purge' (2013), but this idea was abandoned when Frank Grillo accepted the director's offer to reprise his role as Sergeant Leo Barnes from 'The Purge: Anarchy' (2014).
- The film's plot unfolds two years after the events depicted in James DeMonaco's 'The Purge: Anarchy' (2014).
- In Spain, the films in the franchise were released under different titles, but with the same subtitle: 'The Purge: The Night of the Beasts' (2013), 'Anarchy: The Night of the Beasts' (2014), and 'Election: The Night of the Beasts' (2016).
- The working title of the film was "The Purge: Killers".
- Soldiers of the "New Founding Fathers of America" party wear Nazi symbols on their chests.
- Raymond J. Barry, who played Caleb Warrens, and Michael T. Williamson, who played Joe Dixon, both appeared in the crime drama series "Justice" (2010). The former played Arlo Givens, the latter – Ellstin Limehouse.
- The "Scavengers" gang, or "the bus gang," does not appear in the film.
- Dante Bishop, played by Edwin Hodge in the film, plays the role that Carmelo Jones, played by Mike Kenneth Williams, performed in "The Purge 2".
- The character of Edwin Hodge appears in all three films of the franchise. In "The Purge: Election Year" viewers learn that his name is Dante Bishop, whereas in the first two films he was simply referred to as "The Stranger."
- Elizabeth Mitchell, who played Senator Roan, starred as one of the main characters in the TV series "Lost" (2004-2010). The film contains a reference to this television series – it concerns an Apollo chocolate bar that Kimmy tries to steal in Joe’s store.
- Caleb Warrens, the leader of the political party "New Founding Fathers of America," appears in the film.
- In three unrelated films – "Forrest Gump" (Robert Zemeckis, 1994), "Con Air" (Simon West, 1997), and "The Purge: Election Year" (James DeMonaco, 2016) – the character of Michael Williamson interacts with the protagonist, takes a bullet to the stomach, and talks to the protagonist, after which he either dies or is taken to the hospital.
- The following characters from previous installments of the franchise do not appear in "The Purge: Election Year": Carmelo Jones, Cali Sanchez, Liz, Tanya, Rico Sanchez, Big Papa, Eva Sanchez, Shane, the Bandit, Warren Grass, the Elegant Old Lady, the second Bandit, Diego, Roddy, Barney, Lauren, Katherine, Mr. Sabian (his wife appears), Carlos, Mr. Lockhart, Lauren Lockhart, and "The Battle Brothers."
Similar movies
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
