First, here’s the official release order of the films:
- “The Purge” (2013)
- “The Purge: Anarchy” (2014)
- “The Purge: Election Year” (2016)
- “The First Purge” (2018)
- “The Forever Purge” (2021)
But it is ideal to start with 2017’s “The First Purge,” which examines the very first time that this bizarre annual ritual takes place. On closer inspection, the tradition isn’t bizarre at all, as it is triggered due to the wide, unbreachable gap between various social strata and economic classes, where the impoverished target the elite for a limited time in an attempt to level the playing field. In this film, a leading political party holds a test trial of The Purge on Staten Island, with the promise of a hefty sum to anyone who survives.
The next in the chronology is “The Purge” TV series, which provides an in-depth, grander context for this universe. If you wish to reserve the series for a watch later on, that is okay as well — the series focuses on the Purge of 2027, with several characters being forced to endure through the night. The show’s second and final season examines the aftermath of the Purge of 2036, where interconnected anthology stories shed light on different kinds of situations. Interestingly, James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) makes an appearance, which sets the stage for this character’s presence in the next film to watch, “The Purge.”
After “The Purge,” the rest of the entries are pretty straightforward, as they follow linear chronology and adhere to the release date order. First is 2014’s “The Purge: Anarchy,” which takes place a year after the events of the 2013 film, and hones in on LAPD security chief Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo), who uses this tradition as a cover to enact vengeance on the people who murdered his son. Several characters fight for survival, with the ever-growing presence of an Anti-Purge resistance group influencing the grisly events of the film.