«American Nightmare 4: Origins»

Cinema Wednesdays - Marina De Toro

Since 2013, James De Monaco has surprised with his saga American Nightmare an annual purge to regulate crime and unemployment in the United States. For one night a year, American citizens are allowed to commit all crimes and express all negativity. Once the twelve hours have passed, crimes committed during the purge are not prosecuted, and life returns to normal. In this fourth film, director Gerard McMurray presents the origins of this murderous tradition, which took place in a town on an isolated island in the USA.

One film too many

The «New Founding Fathers» took charge of the United States and decided to set up an experimental project aimed at lowering the crime rate. The new concept was the brainchild of sociologist May Updale, and her ideas quickly caught on with the new US government. The only problem is that Dr. Updale and the government don't see eye-to-eye on this experiment, which is merely a psycho-social test for the sociologist, whereas the politicians see it as in the country's economic interest.

This clash of ideas is handled very poorly in the film, and everything becomes extremely predictable. No real plot develops because the antagonists—the «New Founding Fathers»—hide nothing from the audience and express their intentions regarding the Purge in a very clumsy manner. This fourth film therefore adds nothing new to the story that has been unfolding since the first American Nightmare.

Messages Addressed to the United States

Même si le concept de la Purge est extrême, voire absurde pour le commun des mortels, il faut tout de même affirmer qu’il est proprement une critique de nos sociétés occidentales et en particulier celle des Etats-Unis. On perçoit clairement la persistance des clivages entre les différentes communautés et notamment la présence encore constante d’un racisme contres les Afro-Américains et les Latinos. Ce sentiment d’un pays en plein chamboulement et d’une hostilité en croissance dénote très clairement de l’attitude controversée de Trump depuis son élection en 2017.

Malgré la pauvreté scénaristique du film et le jeu passablement mauvais des acteurs, la Purge sonne comme un avertissement d’une limite à ne jamais franchir. Finalement, American Nightmare 4 montre à quel point l’imagination des Hommes peut dépasser la morale et que, même si notre monde a déjà connu nombre d’horreurs, les idées destructrices ne s’épuisent jamais.

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Photo credit: © Universal Pictures Int. Switzerland GmbH