REVIEW / FILM REVIEW – After four films and one series, the “American Nightmare” license continues to grow. The fifth film in the franchise seeks to innovate with a purge that is no longer limited to one night.
American Nightmare 5 : the purge continues
Initiated in 2013 by James DeMonaco, franchise American Nightmare has grown in popularity ever since. In four films, the license grossed more than $ 456 million in box office revenue. And that’s without counting the series derived from the cinematographic saga. This time, James DeMonaco, who still writes the script, left his place as director to Everardo Gout. This new purge deviates a little from the concept of the previous films. Indeed, this time, the purge does not stop at a single night and becomes continuous.
This new opus of the franchise American Nightmare does not specifically enhance the quality of the license. Even if the film is more successful than the previous chapter, he is light years away from the effectiveness of the first two films. Everardo Gout takes up the classic clichés of the genre. But without transforming them, strengthening them or adapting them to a more personal style.
American Nightmare 5: limitless replay the usual score : watered down violence, repetitive chases, survival that lacks impact and breath, a concept never fully developed. The interest of this new film does not ultimately lie in the aesthetic and rhythmic aspect. However, it materializes through the themes addressed.
A relatively interesting political aspect
As often in the saga American Nightmare, the plot of the film seeks to highlight the differences between the inhabitants of the beautiful American nation. While the first films pointed to the gaps in wealth, and the fourth film addressed the plight of African Americans, this Limitless Purge prefers to interfere in the status of Mexican immigrants.
Once again, the feature film seeks to highlight the unfairness of the treatment of minorities on American soil. Racism, prejudice, wealth gaps, right to work, Everardo Gout probes the treatment of minorities, especially Mexicans. An intellectual position that obviously echoes the policy of Donald Trump, the construction of his wall and more generally his war against immigrants.
In this, American Nightmare 5 is not totally devoid of interest. The film (and more broadly the saga) takes a lucid and interesting look at racism, the rejection of the other, and the violence inherent in every human being. In an aspect that is sometimes a little gullible and naive, the plot of the film pushes the protagonists to put their differences aside to join forces. And thus remember that America is stronger when it sticks together. Obviously, all this remains very succinct. But it allows to give, once again, a political dimension to the saga American Nightmare which deserves to be highlighted.
American Nightmare 5: limitless by Everardo Gout, in theaters on August 4, 2021. Check out the trailer above. Find all our trailers here.
