STACK November 2016 Issue 145

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The Purge: Election Year
is surely the most timely
release in the US this year,
with one of the country’s most
bizarre races for the White House
approaching its conclusion.
Fortunately, according to star
Mykelti Williamson, the current
mood in the States doesn’t reflect
the events depicted in the film, in
which a female senator is targeted
for assassination on the one night
of the year when crime and murder
is legal for 12 hours. However,
he does note that unless society
changes, there is a real danger of
heading the way of the Purge.
“It’s such a great idea, as
bizarre as it is, because with
society spinning out of control
in certain pockets, you
wonder where we’re going to
end up,” Williamson says. “It’s a
fantastical place to end up, but it
still has an essence of reality to it
and you hope that we don’t end up
in a place like that.
“Look at the mean-spiritedness
of social media, how people just
jump on and pile on a celebrity
because of their looks, and
out and out attack people,”
he continues. “Right now
it’s limited to social media,
but what if it spins out of
control and goes beyond
that? We could end up
with a real life Purge!”
Williamson plays
Joe Dixon in The
Purge: Election Year,
a convenience store
owner who’s content
with making an honest
living and holding on to
his slice of the American
pie. When Purge Night
brings violence and anarchy
to his neighbourhood, his
store becomes a sanctuary for
the hunted senator (Elizabeth
Mitchell) and her chief of security
(Frank Grillo), and a battle for
survival begins.
The actor describes Joe Dixon
as the guy next door who has
got your back when you’ve got
nowhere else to turn, and credits
writer-director James DeMarco’s
collaborative nature in allowing his
character to inject some comic
relief into an intense situation.
“You have to give people some
tension-breaker moments and a
chance to breathe, and then you
can scare them all over again
because they feel safe,” he says.
“That’s what I could add, and it
works great.”
Combining action, thriller and
horror elements along with subtext
on the state of social order, The
Purge is a flexible franchise, and
Williamson agrees that the concept
is still ripe for exploration in future
films.
“One of the things we talked
about is what if a couple of these
main characters decide they’re
going to get out of the United
States and go to Australia or Paris,
or anywhere else that does not
have a Purge – and what if the
Purge ends up in that place? There
are so many possibilities.”
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32 NOVEMBER 2016
DVD&BD
FEATURE
Veteran actor MykeltiWilliamson finds himself fighting for his life in
The Purge: ElectionYear. He spoke with Scott Hocking about the third
film in the high concept horror-thriller series.
With a career spanning
almost 40 years and
100 film and TV credits
combined, Mykelti
Williamson is a familiar
face. He’s recognisable
to many for his role as
Bubba in Forrest Gump,
but the actor says it
all depends on the
company he’s in.
“Kids know me from
Free Willy, women
know me from a movie
called Waiting to
Exhale, guys who’ve
been in jail know me
from Con Air, and cops
know me from the
Michael Mann thriller
Heat. It’s a mixed bag.”
Speaking of Heat,
Williamson says
he would love the
opportunity to work
with Mann again,
and not necessarily
on a film. “One of my
favourite directors
is Michael Mann –
anything that Michael
Mann does, I would
like to be a part of. I
would help Michael
Mann paint a house;
it would be the most
amazing experience
you’ve ever had!”
• The Purge:
Election Year
is out now