Directed by Everardo Gout and written by James DeMonaco (the creator of The Purge franchise), The Forever Purge will follow what happens when a rogue group of lawless individuals decides not to end the annual Purge at daybreak. At the same time, a Mexican couple escaping from a drug cartel find themselves stranded on a Texas ranch, as they are forced to fight for their lives. The film stars Ana de la Reguera, Tenoch Huerta, Josh Lucas, Cassidy Freeman, Leven Rambin, Alejandro Edda and Will Patton.
With the trailer debut, Collider was invited to chat 1-on-1 with Gout about why he wanted to sign on to direct this sequel, taking this unique approach to the film, changing the rules, making it as visceral and authentic as possible, creating new Purge looks, and why it’s important for audiences to recognize themselves in the characters.
Collider: When something like this comes your way, is there immediate excitement or is there immediate hesitance? What went through your mind, when you got the opportunity to make this film?
EVERARDO GOUT: To me, it was all about the treatment that I received and what was on the page that James DeMonaco had written. And then, speaking to him and understanding that the way that I interpreted what I read was the same thing that he had in his mind was great. We were looking at the same thing, which was a last episode on this epic, super big scope universe, taking the approach to its last consequences [Editor's note: A Universal representative tells Collider this is not necessarily the last film in the franchise]. I think that’s what got me really excited about trying to do that, and changing the rules and making a lot of it in the daytime. It was hyper charged with imagery and with messages. That’s what excited me, more than anything else.
Normally, we’re used to seeing these movies in the city, on city streets at night, and you’re taking it out of what we’re used to seeing with it. What does that allow you to do with the storytelling, with how you wanted to approach it as a filmmaker, and with how you wanted to make it look?
GOUT: It’s a great opportunity because the gloves are off. You have to honor the codes of the movie, which all the fans will expect, but apart from that, you’re free. You’re free to make it as visceral and as authentic as possible, which are my two main things. I wanted to try to make it so that you would believe the characters, that it’s solid acting, that you connect with them, that you identify yourself with them, and therefore you feel for them and you’re frightened by their adventure and by their ordeals. That, to me, was what’s great about this. I wanted to really zone in to these fresh new characters. I love that Ana de la Reguera is not the typical American bimbo. She’s a mature, beautiful, intelligent woman who kicks ass, and Hollywood doesn’t have enough of that. It’s either the really young, gorgeous-looking whatever or the grandmas. There’s nothing in the middle. My mom raised me and I saw that all the time – that intelligent, beautiful, strong woman – and I wanted to portray that.
Over the years, this series of films has also been one of the most socially conscious franchises and clearly this installment is no exception to that. What did you want to say with that aspect of the story? How is that going to play into the story that’s being told?
GOUT: Well, I choose my projects for what they have to say. I have a daughter and, to me, she’s my Northern star. I choose everything trying to leave this world a better place for her. So, if the movie, the project or whatever has something to say to the world, I will take it. It’s never about the money. It’s never about the blin-bling. It’s nothing like that. It could be dystopian, it could be utopian, I don’t care as long as it has something to say. What’s really great about this franchise is that it reaches a lot of people, and it’s super entertaining and thrilling and scary. You make a beautiful joy ride with a movie and you have people at the edge of their seats for two hours, and then as they leave the theater, they don’t leave the movie. They take it with them. It’s one of those rare cases where, with a Hollywood movie, the day after, you’re still gonna be haunted by the images and by the meaning of what you saw, and that will inspire people to come together. That’s great for me. It’s the best of both worlds.
When you create Purge looks, like we see in the trailer with the Purge Cowboy, how do you figure out what they’ll look like?
GOUT: I never think about anything but the movie. It’s very interesting, we explored with James the topics that he wanted to speak about and how the Purge is like a virus. This was all pre-COVID, but those were our truthful conversations. The true enemy is the violence and how that spreads and becomes insatiable. You choose your costumes and your looks based on that. It has to be endemic to the place that you’re shooting it and to the story that you’re telling, so that’s what informs the direction that you take.
Did you try a bunch of different things before you settled on the look you wanted, or did you always have a very clear idea?
GOUT: The battle was more against the budget. It’s a big franchise, but we don’t make them for a lot of money, so you have to come up with very creative ways of achieving, especially with how this one has such a bigger scope than the last ones. You have to be very creative and try to be as close as possible to the original vision. I had the vision of this woman and these Latino men, and they come together with these two other American characters, and I wanted it to look like this and feel like that. Music is very important and camera work, to me, is very important. We change the lens and the texture of the movie, so that it feels more enveloping. That’s what we went for.
For you, as a filmmaker, how does that kind of approach affect you, as a storyteller? Are there things that you brought with you from your past experiences that you feel helped you with this, and are there things you learned on this that you think you’ll definitely take with you into the future of your filmmaking?
GOUT: The moment that I’m on set, not even as a whole project, but on a daily basis, that I don’t learn something is the day that I’ll quit. You have to learn something, every day. If you feel that you know it, then you’re probably failing. I wanted to bring a lot of authenticity to the movie. I wanted Tenoch [Huerta] to play one of the protagonists. I’d worked with him before. He won the Mexican Academy Award for a movie we did together. This being my first Hollywood movie, I wanted to bring my A-guy because I wanted him to do his first Hollywood movie. And now, he’s been asked to do [the sequel for Black Panther]. He has a huge career ahead of him. I just knew that I needed to show the American people his talent and open that door for him, and off he went. Those were the things that I brought to the table. You’re always learning. In good times and in bad times, you have to keep on learning.
Because of the constraints that you had, was there anything that you had to change?
GOUT: For sure, but that’s for every project. Somebody once told me, “A movie is never finalized. It’s just abandoned.” You run out of time. If you could keep going, you would keep going and trying to make everything better and better and better, all the time. So, of course, there were a lot of compromises along the way, but I tried to use that as an advantage. [Steven] Spielberg was at his best when the shark didn’t work and he had to make a movie where you didn’t see the shark, but that was scary and it worked. It’s a little bit of that approach. It’s about what we can show that can scare the shit out of people.
It feels like such a tricky balance between how much you show and how much you don’t show, and finding somewhere in the middle.
GOUT: Correct, that’s the trick of the trade in a movie like, but it’s very satisfying. Some of the imagery goes a very long way. It’s the best of two worlds. You have the codes that you’re honoring, so you’re alienating fans, but everything is different. It gets bigger and the acting is solid and really strong, so you will recognize yourself in the characters and embark with them on their journey.
The Forever Purge is out in theaters on July 2nd.