‘The First Purge’ Gets a Brand New Trailer, Poster (VIDEO)

My biggest gripe with The Purge films is that they set up this world where all crime is legal for 12 hours, yet the only crime anyone seems to be interested in is murder. Do you know how many options that premise opens up? Dozens, at least. How about a movie where these dudes have spent the whole year planning an embezzlement scheme and they only have the 12 hours during The Purge to execute it? That'd be something at least.

But no, instead we're back to more murder and mayhem with the fourth film in the series The First Purge, a prequel which takes the series back to—as the title would indicate—the very first Purge. The interesting thing, for my money, this time around is the film's director Gerard McMurray. His first feature film, Burning Sands, was a visceral and borderline nauseating film about hazing. There's some potential he could bring some visual flair to a franchise that has always been sorely lacking in that department.

And hey, look at that, Marisa Tomei's involved this time too. That's something. She helped reinvigorate the Spider-Man franchise by being in it, so maybe she'll work that same mojo here. Too bad she couldn't talk Michael Keaton or the kid who played Ned into coming along for the ride, but you can't win 'em all. The First Purge hits theaters on, when else, July 4.