The Purge | Geekscape

SDCC 2018: Visiting ‘Purge City’ Made Me Want To Hunt For A Green Card!

by Derek KraneveldtJuly 24, 2018

Briefly: 2018 was far and away the year of standout offsites events.

I spent some time detailing Purge City in my Friday recap, but this offsite was so impressive that it deserved some space on its own.

The event was put together to advertise and celebrate USA Network’s upcoming The Purge 10-episode TV series, which “follows several seemingly unrelated characters living in a small city. Tying them all together is a mysterious savior who’s impeccably equipped for everything the night throws at them. As the clock winds down with their fates hanging in the balance, each character is forced to reckon with their pasts as they discover how far they will go to survive the night.”

While the film series has been fairly hit or miss for me (an amazing concept that isn’t always that well executed), I was already invested in the idea of a TV series, even before I visited Purge City.

Purge City was a parody of the Party City brand of party preparation stores (couldn’t figure that out from the title, could you?), and the event has to be the most immersive offsite that I’ve been to in years, as every single actor in the venue was in full character 100% of the time. They often had creepy smiles, and were constantly asking patrons what they were doing for the Purge. When asked, I noted that I was from Canada so I wasn’t used to purging, and the employees were happy to offer suggestions. Suggestions ranged from hiding or staying in, to taking me through some of their most popular weapon choices for first-time Purgers – one of the employees even said they were sorry that those in Canada didn’t have the opportunity to Purge, noting just how prosperous things have been since the 28th amendment came to pass.

The store (which I impressively saw being built just a couple of days before) was filled with amazing merchandise, some available for fans, while other (larger or more violent-looking items) were set for display only.

Upon entry, patrons received 20 ‘Purge Bucks’ to spend on whatever they wanted. You could grab a basket, and choose from t-shirts for 15 Purge Bucks, hats for 12, temporary tattoos, candles, energy drinks, greeting cards, stain ‘depurgent’, and even more. Alongside the phenomenal greeting cards, there was also a tablet that Purgers could use to send equally hilarious e-cards to friends, some of which even allowed you to upload your own photos. I picked up a t-shirt, a wonderful replica of the 28th amendment to the constitution (which is when the Purge was added), and a greeting card that said ‘Live, Laugh, Purge’ on it. This totalled 20 Purge Bucks, and I also received a helium balloon and a reusable ‘Purge City’ bag upon checkout (the latter I cannot wait to use back home, regardless of all of the weird looks I’ll receive).

The merchendise was fantastic, and I absolutely loved the ability to tailor your swag to your own preferences – that said, the very best part of the event had to be the actors/employees. The week must have been incredibly busy and inexplicably stressful, but they just seemed so thrilled and excited to help patrons ensure that their Purge would be a good one. In the ‘demo’ are, the actors really had an opportunity to shine, as every half hour or so they would show off some of the fun new products that Purge City had available for this year’s Purge, including a ‘Purge Night Cake Cutter’, which was a cake baking kit and knife that would cut your Purge night celebration cake into 6 or 12 identical pieces. One of the pieces had a special, limited edition ‘New Founding Father’ figure inside, and whomever’s piece contained the figure would have to do a dare at the discretion of the host. I captured this demonstration on video, and it was so hilarious that I had a huge grin on my face the entire time.

The other demo that I was present for had the employees showing off a new stain ‘depurgent’ (see what they did there?), which had volunteers from the crowd splattering liquid (blue liquid like the classic paper towel or sanitary pad commercials, but they definitely hinted that it would also work on blood) on some white shirts, and showing just how much better their formula was than ‘the other guys’ at removing said stains.

The setup really felt just like a real store, and I spent the better part of an hour absorbing absolutely everything that I could. Every aspect of this setup was impressive, from the swag you could take home, to the security system demonstration (catch a quick video below of the system being demoed to The Purge cast member Fiona Dourif), to the weapon setups or the silly signage that was all around the store – it really made preparing for the Purge feel like preparing for a party… instead of the absolute most terrifying thing in that could ever possibly exist.

I was obsessed with this offsite, and as such, I took a myriad of photos to remember it by. Be sure to take a close look at all of the hilarious greeting cards, shirts, and other items,and be sure to let us know what you think!

The Purge commences (the TV series, not the real thing, obviously) on September 4th, and you better believe I’ll be watching!

SDCC 2018: Derek’s Long-Winded SDCC Recap – Friday

by Derek KraneveldtJuly 20, 2018

Read pre-convention and preview night here.
Read my Thursday recap here.

What a freaking day.

Just when I thought I that things could not possibly be as cool today as they were yesterday (I’m still reeling about the WWE stuff at PetCo Park), this morning began with three awesome back to back offsite events.

The day began fairly early, as I had to be at the Amazon Fire TV to the Future offsite event for an 8AM start time. The event showed off all of the neat things that you could do with the FireTV product line (including the new FireTV Cube, which also acts as a smart-home hub). A lot of people seemed super impressed with the smart-home stuff, but as someone who has been using Philips Hue lights and an Alexa-enabled TV for some time, the Cube seemed a little slow to respond at times (I think it’s likely due to networking issues more than anything, seeings as this was as temporary building.

Employees demonstrated Dolby Atmos via a Vizio sound bar (Mikaela, I’m sorry but we need a new soundbar), showing off the newest trailer for Jack Ryan which premieres on Amazon Prime on August 31st and looks freaking awesome. I also feel like this thing has been in the works for freaking ever, as I’m pretty sure that there were buildings covered in Jack Ryan shit last year.

There were a number of photo ops throughout the exhibit as well, including Game of Thrones (the iron throne, of course), The Good Place, Westworld, Jack Ryan, and more, as well as a few neat installations like a ‘Backyard Cinema Club’, a giant overgrown remote that looked like something out of The Last of Us, and an area with themed cocktails.

It was fun, and it was air conditioned (which is pretty rare for some of these offsite events, and it was much. It’s also a little off the beaten path, so from what I’ve seen the line hasn’t even been that crazy. It’s open through Sunday, so you should probably check it out.

Next up was one of the events that I was most excited for coming into this week. Last year’s Mr. Mercedes sponsored Wired Cafe was the first I’d heard of the title (in book or television form), and I absolutely loved the series when I eventually watched it (and by watched I mean binged super quickly). I was lucky enough to see the fantastic first two episodes of the second season before I left for California last week, and I was beyond ready to see what AT&T and the Audience Network had in store for attendees.

The entire offsite was fantastic. There were rebuilds of some of the sets (including Brady’s coma room, Brady’s lair, Supreme Electronics, and more), a VR escape room that had you locked in Brady’s lair searching for clues before a bomb goes off (with Brady’s creepy, computerize voice talking in your ear the whole time and creeping the shit out of you). There was also a neat augmented reality application that you could download in order to partake in a scavenger hunt around the exhibit. You could find clues that would unlock dialog between Bill and Brady, and it was a super fun way to make the offsite more interactive. There was even a cool photo op that morphed you into the show’s poster – they even print it into one of those cool 3D lenticular things that were popular in the 90’s.

Attendees could also find physical clues throughout the exhibit that would earn them stamps, and at the end of the event you’d get some swag based on how many stamps you earned, ranging from pins to bags to some sweet San Diego exclusive t-shirts.

I was also there at the perfect time. As I was coming back up from Brady’s lair, the PR organizer let me know that some of the cast and crew was coming through if I wanted to check things out. I ended up grabbing a photo with Justine Lupe and director Jack Bender, and even had a (very brief) change to chat with Bender about Lost (which was mostly me telling him that his episodes are my very favourite episodes of TV).

https://instagram.com/p/Ble4–uh7WQ/

Look for my dedicated article about the in the next couple of days, but you should definitely be getting in line for this one (and yes, I realize that I’m just telling you to get in line for everything – it turns out that shit is cool at Comic-Con, okay?)

Following Mr. Mercedes, I walked just down the block again to the Purge City offsite (super convenient placement). I was inexpressibly excited to see this activation, simply because it looked fucking hilarious, and the premise is amazing. There’s a ten-episode The Purge TV series set to hit USA Network in September, and this was a fantastic way to advertise. Purge City has to be the most immersive offsite that I’ve been to in years, as every single actor in the venue was in full character 100% of the time. They often had creepy smiles, and were constantly asking patrons what they were doing for the Purge. When asked, I noted that I was from Canada so I wasn’t used to purging, and the employees were happy to offer suggestions.

Upon entry, you’re given 20 ‘Purge Bucks’ to spend on whatever you want. There are shirts available for 15 Purge Bucks, hats for 12, temporary tattoos, candles, energy drinks, and even more. You can grab a basket and fill up! I picked up a t-shirt, a replica of the 28th amendment to the constitution (which is when the purge was added), and a greeting card that said ‘Live, Laugh, Purge’ on it. This totalled 20 Purge Bucks, and I also received a helium balloon and a reusable ‘Purge City’ bag upon checkout.

I spent a long time in Purge City absorbing as much as I possibly could. Every single piece of merchendise (whether actually for sale or for display only) was totally believable, and so freaking well done. I also had a chance to spend some time in the Purge City ‘demo’ area, which had employees demoing some new products coming out for this year’s Purge.

Be sure to watch this demo of the ‘Purge Day Precision Cake Cutter’:

Take a look at some photos from Purge City below, and be on the lookout for even more in the next day or two. For SDCC attendees, Purge City is open tomorrow from 11AM to 7PM, and on Sunday from 11AM-4PM.

I packed a lot into my morning, and decided to keep things mostly relaxed for the rest of the day. I met up with Courtney and Shane at the Wired Cafe for a quick drink (thanks again, Wired) and to watch the rest of the vultures scramble for the donuts, sandwiches, and sliders that were coming out regularly.

We also saw our first protesters today, and Courtney got really mad at the one that said “Vaccines Cause Autism”. There are always some parody protesters as well though, which is always pretty hilarious.

Finally, I hit the show floor. Naturally, I b-lined it directly to the Mondo booth. Matt asked me to grab the Die Hard print for a friend of his (and then somehow did not know how big or expensive prints can be), and the Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom prints were also still in stock. I wandered around for a bit and tried to call Mikaela multiple times so that she could talk me out of buying things, but she didn’t pick up… so I bought the Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Mondo print. I also scoped out a sweet Sea of Thieves shirt and replica coin that I haven’t bit the bullet on quite yet (but there are still two more days to do so). Next up, I went to the ABC booth to look for some Golden Girls items for Mikaela, and then I doubled back to Factory Entertainment to pick up the exclusive die-cast S.S. Georgie replica and an exclusive Goonies bottle opener (which was my second choice after seeing that the Jurassic Park raptor claw bottle opener was sold out). At checkout, when asked if I needed anything else, I joked “Not unless you have any more of those Jurassic Park bottle openers left,” to which they said “Actually we just found one.”

Safe to say, I bought it. I actually meant to grab it instead of the Goonies one, but there was a bit of a misunderstanding and somehow I ended up with both. Then Mikaela had to talk me off the ledge because I was freaking out about how much money I’d spent. She’s lovely and I don’t know what I would do without her.

I took a quick walk over to the Castle Rock exhibit, which had about a 120 minute line that I didn’t feel like standing in. I’m still super impressed with that house they built, and the car (and creepy kid) in the water make more some great photo ops. There were some Hulu representatives in the area giving out neat lightning/micro-USB powered fans (it’s hot out) in exchange for doing a survey about how you used Hulu. I said “I’m from Canada,” and they just said “Sorry,” and handed me the fan.

Shane, Courtney, and I grabbed some food – this was at like 5:30, and I’d intended to grab something small so I could eat with Matt at 8:30, but by the time we’d found something that didn’t have a super long wait it was after 7:00. I had delicious nachos.

At this point in the day, I’d been out and about for its entirety and I needed to get to work. We made a quick stop at the PetCo Interactive Zone to see Greg Grunberg, Adrian Pasdar, and friends ‘Band From TV’ play a few songs, and then we returned the hotel in order to get writing.

Writing was tough, but for good reasons. The room was full of dudes – Jonathan, Gui, Shane, and Matt were all in the room, and over the course of the night I learned that there were like 15 Puppet Master movies, that Shane didn’t know that Mamma Mia was based on the music of Abba, and a bunch of other shit.

But here we are. Today was a fun as hell, and then very odd day – of course I knew that things with Jon Schnepp were bad, but I hadn’t been online in hours and I only learned of his death from Geekscape Alumni Eric Diaz. I’d only met Jon a few times, but I truly enjoyed the conversations that we’d had over the years, and watching him and Jonathan talk about things at a way deeper level than I could ever hope to understand was always fascinating. Schnepp had the SDCC booth next to ours for the past few years, and it’s super weird and very sad to look at that booth and not see him. I cannot imagine the heartbreak that his partner Holly and his family are feeling right now. A ‘Get Better Jon Schnepp’ fund was set up last week, and is still ongoing at this time to help cover his medical expenses.

That’s Friday. Thanks so much for reading this far, and look for more tomorrow.

New ‘The Purge: Anarchy’ Trailer Shows Off Way More Frank Grillo

by Derek KraneveldtJune 23, 2014

Briefly: As MCDave noted in his review of the original film, last year’s surprise hit The Purge held an absolutely brilliant premise and a stellar cast, but faltered in its execution, leading to a mess of a film that isn’t even worth watching.

The first trailer for The Purge: Anarchy previewed a feature far better looking than the original film, and that trend continues with the release of this new trailer. The video digs deeper into the film’s plot, shows more of what the Purge looks like inside the city (rather than trapped in one home like the first film), and it also gives us a lot more Frank Grillo. We love Frank Grillo.

Take a look at the new trailer below, and let us know what you think! The Purge: Anarchy hits theatres on July 18th!

The Full Trailer For ‘The Purge: Anarchy’ Is Here, And Exponentially Better Than The Original

by Derek KraneveldtMarch 28, 2014

Last night, the theatrical trailer for its sequel, The Purge: Anarchy hit the web, and it’s exponentially better than anything that we saw in the first film.

There’s no synopsis for the film yet, but star Zach Gilford has stated that ““it’s the same day of the year and it takes place in the city where there are no security systems and it’s just like a war zone where people are just trying to survive.”

Take a look at the trailer below, and let us know what you think! The Purge: Anarchy hits theatres on July 18th!

http://youtu.be/Nx5c5-vcJYQ

Geekscape Movie Reviews: The Purge

by MCDaveJune 10, 2013

If marketed correctly, a horror movie/franchise can be an absolute gold mine. In fact, writer/director James DeMonaco’s latest widespread horror phenomenon, The Purge, had already received the green light for a sequel, even though the first installment hadn’t officially opened yet. It’s absolutely crazy when you think about it, but that’s the world we live in now. All it takes is a clever premise and a hypnotic two and a half minute trailer to fool a nation of paying customers. And please take my word for it, The Purge is just another shining example of how misleading a theatrical trailer can be.

Set in the near future of 2022, the United States is a new nation. After unemployment, crime and poverty become too big of an issue for our country to handle, we adopt a new plan known as “The Purge”. The Purge is one 12 hour period during the calendar year in which all crime (even murder) is legal. There’s no police, there’s no ambulances or hospitals, just good old-fashion human survival. Surprisingly, this newly adopted idea helps restore the United States back into a crime and poverty-free nation. But after a suburban family known as the Sandins decide to harbor the target of a group’s annual Purge, they must find a way to survive the evening.

Sadly, The Purge represents a completely mishandled and poorly utilized idea. On the surface, it’s nothing short of a genius premise. Easy to grasp, highly original and essentially limitless. The Purge should stand as a horror genre’s dream come true. However, James DeMonaco’s script and direction are entirely off the mark. No one can deny DeMonaco’s brilliant idea for a story or his politically charged subplots that truly add depth to such a well-conceived notion. But instead, he receives a lion’s share of criticism for his complete mishandling of a remarkably original premise. First, The Purge takes far too much time to get into the swing of things. And once the ball finally gets rolling, DeMonaco maneuvers the film in a poor direction. Where it hints at social class warfare and natural selection, The Purge hits all of the wrong notes in the process. The feature takes these deep rooted psychological ideas that branch off of its premise so easily, and turns them into a laughing stock of a finale. Hence, The Purge stands as nothing more than a huge disappointment.

In addition to the film’s botched storyline, another irritating facet of The Purge is the irrationality of its characters. Surely we’ve all seen characters make poor decisions in horror movies. “Don’t go up those steps” or “why are you moving towards the noise” have crossed our minds time and time again. Yet, The Purge places its entire focus on a mother and father desperate to protect their family. Can someone explain to me how this family shows absolutely no interest in finding one another once the power goes out in their home and they’ve been separated? And after the father fights off an ax-wielding woman and her male companion, his son asks about the matriarch (who is wandering the house all alone) and the dad simply responds that he’s sure she’s all right. There are contradictions galore and a substantial amount of nonsensical behaviors exhibited by the characters. At the end of the day, The Purge can be tallied up as yet another Hollywood blunder.

Admittedly, I counted the days until the release of James DeMonaco’s The Purge. Yet, an enticing trailer and a strong general idea are squandered by poor writing and a lack of attention to detail. While production company insiders are aware that they have a box office smash on their hands, we can only hope that a stronger script will make the sequel a much more desirable final product than this first installment. The scares are too sporadic and the tension is short lived. Virtually, there’s no good enough reason to waste your money on The Purge. Please avoid.

GRADE: 1.5/5

You can check out more work from MCDAVE at Movie Reviews By Dave