The Purge hit the big screen in 2013 with the concept that all crime is legal for just one night a year.
While some people may have thought that means anyone can go out on a guilt-free shopping spree, the film actually opened the doors to all kinds of horrific crimes with no consequences.
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A grand total of five films down the line The Purge became an incredibly popular film franchise with an evil twist – but it turns out, it was once a reality.
The film series may be dystopian, but the roots of the idea dates further back to ancient Europe.
(Image: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)
Film website Looper researched the events and found something very similar in pre-Roman pagan times with an event much like The Purge taking place over a whole week in ancient Europe.
The week would take place around the Winter Solstice, which would usually be from the 17th to 25th December.
The rules were that people would consume a lot of alcohol, fight and occasionally kill each other.
(Image: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)
From Looper’s research, they added: “DeMonaco’s films draw multiple parallels with the ancient holiday’s customs, one of which involved choosing a victim to be pushed to the brink of overindulgence.”
“The unlucky person would be fed like a King or Queen during the day and offered more physical pleasures in the evening, and at the festival’s conclusion they would be slaughtered by the authorities, who believed that in doing so they were destroying the forces of darkness and greed.”
(Image: Universal/Blumhouse Prods/Platinum Dunes/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
The premise of the franchise is that it’s a social experiment to get crime down by allowing citizens to unleash their rage on just one day a year and become better, harder-working citizens the rest of the time.
The First Purge, which was released in 2018, was used as a prequel to look at how it began, exploring the US accepting the idea and the “founding fathers” of the chaotic event.
A sixth Purge is expected to hit screens too, with James DeMonaco confirming the script was finished earlier this year.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
