Population Purge movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Population Purge

Gravitas Ventures will release the filmon digital platforms on July 9, 2024.

RATING: The film hasn’t been officially rated, but I would probably give it an R for violence and bloody murders.

LENGTH: 1 hour 25 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: C-

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IN A NUTSHELL:

In a dystopian world where a radical government has unleashed a deadly poison to control population, only those with blood type AB positive remain unscathed. But instead of outright death, the rest of the population is left to suffer in a state of chronic illness, causing widespread chaos and panic. As the majority slowly succumbs to the effects of the poison, their only hope lies in receiving transfusions of AB positive blood from the few immune survivors, like Charlie and his granddaughter Maya. Living in the decrepit remains of an abandoned amusement park, Charlie is a renegade supplier of blood to the underground market. But their sanctuary is threatened by the iron-fisted rule of District 22’s ruthless warden, Onslow, who will stop at nothing to save his own dying son. As Charlie and Maya fight to defend their haven and their own sanity, the eccentric duo must navigate through a world of danger and betrayal.

POPULATION PURGE was written by Brian Johnson and Toby Osborne and directed by Johnson. The film stars S. Lamar Wilson, Peter Holland, and Lyndsey Soto. It has won awards at numerous festivals including Best Feature Film / Best Cinematography at the 2023 Los Angeles Cinematography Film Festival, Best 1st Time Director of a Feature Film at the Best Actor & Director Awards, and Best Feature Under $250,000 at the 2023 International New York Film Festival.

Kudos to Brian Johnson for his directorial debut.

THINGS I LIKED:

None of the actors are probably ones you’ve seen before. I love it when new actors are given opportunities. The cast includes S. Lamar Wilson, Peter Holland, Lyndsey Soto, and Ameerah Briggs.
The sets look like they would be great haunted houses.
You can tell the cast was excited to make this film and be in it.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

The biggest problem is that we aren’t given much information about the characters to care about any of them.
There are a lot of stiff acting moments. Many times, I felt like I was looking at actors who were acting, rather than getting lost in the story.
You can tell the actors probably had a blast making the action sequences, but none of them are very good.
Despite the name, this movie is not connected to the popular Purge franchise.
There are a lot of scenes without dialogue or sound, just a musical score in the background. That can be an effective technique, although we don’t always understand what’s actually happening.
A lot of things just don’t make sense. For example, in a dystopian world, where is everyone getting hair dye?
Why wear a spooky mask to conceal your identity and look mean if you’re just going to remove it in front of your victim?
The Warden’s beard was super shiny and synthetic looking like it came out of a costume shop.
We see a lot of characters in the beginning and then they just disappear without explanation.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Kids will be bored. So will some adults.
Some bloody violence in fight scenes. Other people are just murdered.
A man takes some psychedelic drugs and has a hallucinogenic trip.
Various weapons are used.

THEMES:

Survival
The power of blood

FUNNY LINES:

“And those creepy dolls! I just don’t understand your madness!” – Maya (Lyndsey Soto)

INTERESTING LINES:

“The government’s made us all puppets.” – Jade (Ameerah Briggs)
“Nature is my religion.” – Jade (Ameerah Briggs) “Well, I suppose we all gotta worship something.” – Roberto (Eric Gravez)
“When did you decide to give up on reality?” – Naomi (Rebecca DeRienzo)
“First rule of thumb, Naomi: we don’t put trust in the government, only ourselves.” – Charlie (Peter Holland)
“This isn’t real. The only that’s real islove and family.” – Charlie (Peter Holland)