The Purge is an American anthology media franchise centered on a series of dystopian action horror films distributed by Universal Pictures and produced by Blumhouse Productions and Platinum Dunes, which are written and in some cases also directed by James DeMonaco, who was inspired by a Star Trek: The Original Series episode, βThe Return of the Archonsβ.
The films present a seemingly normal, crime-free[citation needed] America in the near-future. However, the country is a dystopia which observes an annual event known as βthe Purgeβ, in which all crime, including murder, is decriminalized for a 12-hour period.