The true story that went on to inspire the creation of The Purge franchise helps to underline just what makes the five-movie series so scary. Starting with the release of the first low-budget thriller in 2013, The Purge eventually grew into a much larger franchise with its own complex lore. The simple premise behind the franchise is that a semi-dystopian version of the United States allows its citizens to commit whatever crimes they want for one night only, and that’s the backdrop for social commentary. Unlike other horror films, The Purge is distinctly human.

The debut film was small scale and took place within the home of a wealthy family that could afford protection from the Purge. However, subsequent sequels would expand the scope to full cities, and even go back to the origins of the yearly event. Across the five Purge films so far, the horror series has delved deeper and deeper into its own lore, and it has opened the door for a world of storytelling possibilities in future installments. Despite all that, it is the kernel of truth at the heart of the franchise that makes The Purge so terrifying.

The Purge’s Director Got The Initial Concept From His Wife’s Road Rage

A Very Real Encounter Inspired The Horror Franchise’s Concept

Director James Demonaco is the brain behind The Purge, and he oversaw the first three films in the series before stepping away. In an interview with Complex, Demonaco explained how he came up with the idea for the series, and it was close to home. After explaining how he and his wife were nearly killed on the highway by a drunk driver, Demonaco revealed that his wife mused “‘Wouldn’t it be great if we all had one free one a year?’“ He mentioned that he was disturbed by the idea, but eventually intrigued in a creative sense.

Demonaco discussed how the idea evolved after a trip abroad showed him how differently the United States viewed gun violence. “I noticed a different relationship to guns in France. Then, I was in Canada and had the same exact kind of feeling,” Demonaco said, “All of that combined into this idea of a holiday where Americans could legally murder people.” Like any great idea, The Purge wasn’t necessarily based on one encounter, but a series of ideas that built on top of one another.

Demonaco apparently also got inspiration from fictional sources as well, and a classic episode of Star Trek: The Original Series bears a striking resemblance to The Purge. As reported by CBR, Demonaco cited season 1, episode 22, “The Return of the Archons”, as a huge influence on his horror story. In the episode, the Enterprise crew encounter a planet where the citizens partake in a nightly ritual in which they commit crimes and violence on a large scale. Like The Purge, “The Return of the Archons” is a meditation on crime, class, and the puritanical restrictions of society.

The Purge movies include:

The Purge’s Inspiration Reveals The Most Frightening Thing About The Franchise

The Horror Franchise Reveals The Worst Of Humanity

While James Demonaco’s behind-the-scenes stories about what inspired The Purge are interesting anecdotes, they also reveal what works so well about the franchise. In his interview, Demonaco described his wife as a loving and caring person, and even noted how her comments seemed out of character. This shows that the true power of the Purge movies is that they represent the violent urges within even the most moralistic person. The Purge reminds viewers that society is held together by a thin veneer of normalcy and decency that could be ripped away at any moment.

The first movie exposed the hypocrisy of upper-class suburbia, and how they specifically insulated themselves from the crime of cities while profiting from the destruction of the lower classes. The subsequent sequels were a bit more on-the-nose, and focused on average characters getting caught up in the chaos of the Purge, but the messaging is nevertheless clear. Demonaco uses the movies as a statement, explaining how the yearly crime spree isn’t some oddity, but is actually something that exists within everyone.

The United States is integral to the franchise, and that has everything to do with the nation’s approach to gun violence. If the urge to kill is something that is dormant within all people, Demonaco suggests that it is the means to the end that makes the U.S. so receptive to the Purge. The easy access to guns allows people to make their Purge fantasies come to life all too frequently in the movie series, and that is less-than-subtle commentary about real-life gun violence. The Purge is fiction, but it is merely a real-life concept pushed to its absolute limits.