The Fall of the Gatekeepers.
June 15, 1997.
The day before the official wide release, the reviews started pouring in. And they were brutal.
To understand why, you have to understand the history of Hollywood.
In the 70s and 80s, film critics were gods. Studios courted them, invited them to lavish premieres, and—let's be honest—slipped them heavy envelopes of cash under the table. A good review from a man like Anderson Domond could make a movie; a bad one could kill it.
But then came the dinosaurs.
In the early 90s, Universal Pictures made a bold move with Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park. They didn't invite the critics to the premiere. They didn't pay the "consulting fees."
The critics were furious. They felt their livelihood—their easy meal ticket—being threatened. So, they attacked. They called Jurassic Park "soulless," "trash," and "nothing but special effects."
They wanted to prove that without their blessing, a movie would fail.
They were wrong.
Jurassic Park made over $1 billion. It proved that the audience didn't care what the critics thought.
Since then, critics had become bitter. They were like mad dogs, barking at any car that didn't stop to toss them a steak. If you paid them, they called your trash a masterpiece. If you didn't, they called your masterpiece trash.
They had dug their own graves.
The Attack.
Anderson Domond, once the king of reviews, led the charge against The Purge.
He wrote in Century Film Weekly:
"The Purge is trash among trash. It is completely devoid of value. It is a nauseating, cynical mess."
"The so-called class conflict in the film is ridiculous. Where is this injustice they speak of? This is a malicious fantasy created to disturb our nation's stability. It is dangerous. It is morbid. It should not exist."
"I suggest you save your money. This movie will only make you sick."
Other papers followed suit like lemmings.
New York State Entertainment: "A conspiracy theory brought to life."
Boston Morning News: "Mindless violence."
East Coast Entertainment: "Junk."
The Counter-Punch.
At the Wald Pictures office, CEO Victor dropped a stack of newspapers on Zane's desk.
"Boss," Victor said. "Anderson is going hard. He's notorious these days. Since the studios stopped paying him off, he hasn't had a nice word to say about anything."
Zane picked up the paper, skimming the vitriol.
"Did we even invite him to the premiere?" Zane asked.
"No," Victor grinned. "He's making it all up based on hearsay."
Zane laughed, shaking his head.
"They really think they are the arbiters of culture," Zane said dismissively. "They are just a bunch of dinosaurs shouting at the meteor."
Zane wasn't angry. He found it funny. But he wasn't going to let them control the narrative. He knew that controversy sold tickets, but he wanted to frame the conversation correctly.
He opened his laptop and logged into the official website for The Purge.
He began to type.
The Manifesto.
Title: Why Do They Hate Us? By Zane Blackwood
"Why is 'The Purge' so controversial?"
"It is not because of the violence. It is because the film holds up a mirror to society. It involves straightforward class satire and uncomfortable political allegories."
"In the movie, we see two groups of people: The Elites and The Prey. When the sirens wail, the polite masks fall off. We see that behind the expensive suits and charity galas, there is rot. We see that 'civilization' is often just a thin veneer over oppression."
"The critics hate it because it strikes a nerve. It shows that no one is truly righteous. Everyone is ugly when they are fighting for survival."
"The message of the film is simple:"
"If you think you are the harvester, you will eventually oppress." "If you accept being the prey, you will eventually be harvested."
"Don't be a pretentious hunter. And don't be a victim. Open your eyes. That is the theme of 'The Purge'."
Zane hit POST.
The critics wanted a war? He would give them one. And he knew exactly whose side the audience would take.
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