The First Purge (2018)

The First Purge parents guide

It stays inside its R, with real scares and several jump scares.

Scare

Properly scary

Frightening, not just tense.

Jump scares

Several

More than a couple of sudden jolts.

Gore

Graphic gore

Blood and wounds shown clearly.

Violence

Brutal violence

Our top level for violence.

Sex and nudity

Moderate

Moderate means a sex scene or nudity on screen, even brief, or sexual violence that is described or implied but never shown.

Language

Strong

Frequent strong profanity or slurs.

How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

Three questions

Is The First Purge scary?

Yes, properly. The First Purge is the real thing without being an endurance test.

How gory is The First Purge?

Graphic gore and brutal violence. If graphic gore is a dealbreaker, skip it.

What is The First Purge rated, and is it OK for kids?

Rated R, and it earns it: real scares, several jump scares, and moderate sex and nudity. Not one for kids.

What is The First Purge about?

To push the crime rate below one percent for the rest of the year, the New Founding Fathers of America test a sociological theory that vents aggression for one night in one isolated community. But when the violence of oppressors meets the rage of the others, the contagion will explode from the trial-city borders and spread across the nation.

Cast and crew

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The First Purge is on our Horror on Peacock, Thriller on Peacock and Action on Peacock lists.

More like this feeling

Prompts we typed into CouchRot, and the lists that share its tags.

• “a horror movie that's actually scary”
• “scary but not gory”
• “a thriller with a twist, no spoilers”

Lists with the same feel: Most violent and Edge of your seat.