In The Purge: Anarchy, the Annual Purge makes almost all crime legal for 12 hours. The fictional event begins at 7 p.m. on March 21 and ends at 7 a.m. on March 22, creating the film series’ central overnight period of lawlessness.
The Purge is presented as a government-created social policy in an alternate United States. The New Founding Fathers of America claim that the annual event reduces crime and unemployment by allowing people to release their violent impulses without legal consequences. Emergency services are suspended during the event, leaving civilians largely responsible for their own safety.
The rule is sometimes simplified as “everything is legal,” but the franchise establishes limits. Government officials and certain protected classes cannot be targeted, and later stories emphasize that the policy is also a tool for political control and population reduction. The 2014 film The Purge: Anarchy follows several characters trapped outside during the event, expanding the story beyond the first film’s single-house setting.