The Forever Purge, arriving on July 2, brings the Purge franchise to a dramatic close after four films and a television series. After the events of 2016’s The Purge: Election Year, a Mexican couple seeks refuge in Texas only to face off against some unruly citizens seeking to carry out the now illegal Purge.
Ana De La Reguera, who plays Adela, spoke to Screen Rant about the themes behind the horror and the complex dynamic between her character and the new land she’s living in.
Every time I see you you're kicking ass in a badass horror movie. Adela has a very unique background and can absolutely take care of herself in a Purge. But who are Adela and Juan, and what brought them to the United States?
Ana De La Reguera: Well, they were from Michoacan; they were from a small town in Mexico. And they were living through a lot of very difficult situations with drug dealers, with cartels, so they had to run out of her town. They were threatening their lives almost every day, so actually Adela had some knowledge of self-defense because of what was happening in her country.
So, that's why they run out of Mexico and they cross the border to come to America.
Can you talk to me about the relationship between Adela, Juan and the Tuckers, and how see that grow in the film?
Ana De La Reguera: Yeah, I think Adela and Juan are this married couple that adore each other. They come to America to get a better life.
But I think Adela does want to adapt to this country and learn the language. She gets a job; she's just looking to the future. And I think Juan is having a hard time adapting to this culture. He doesn't want to forget who he is, he doesn't want to forget about his language. And they're just different personalities mostly, but they adore each other.
Juan works for this family, the Tuckers, who have a ranch. My husband is also a very good cowboy, so he takes care of their animals. And that's when the story begins and the Purge happens. So then we're suddenly, for circumstances that you will see, stuck with each other. Two families from different backgrounds, and people from different backgrounds and ethnicities, becoming a team.
I felt like with his Purge franchise, James DeMonaco has always been on the forefront of seeing the world for what it is, and sometimes horror films can be cautionary tales. What do you think that people can take away from The Forever Purge as a cautionary tale?
Ana De La Reguera: I just feel that there's a message in the movie. It's The Purge, and you'll have fun, and it's scary. But also, I think it's a great script, because James DeMonaco [and Jason Blum] have been visionaries.
We shot the movie more than two years ago, and a lot of things that we shot happened in real life. So, that was very scary. I think society should learn to live and to accept and adapt to different ways of thinking and different backgrounds and different ethnicities. I just feel like they send a clear message about racism. Especially that.
It seems that Everardo Gout, your director, really connected with this project. What excited you the most about his approach, and what can you tell me about his directing style?
Ana De La Reguera: I think he was very excited about telling the story through Latinos. Actually, he put more input on that; through our vision and through our eyes. When I read the script the first time, it was a little more equal. It's still an ensemble, because I think we're all important in the movie. But he made it more through the Latino eyes, and James DeMonaco and Jason Blum loved the idea.
And then his style is a very documentary type of style. He's very raw and real, and he loves long shots. He loves long types of takes. He's a director who leaves you very free, and he's also asking you, "What do you think?" You arrive like, "Hey, how should I do this?" And he's like, "How would you do it?" From there, he directs you.
So, he is a very particular director. I've never had that experience, where he actually asks you, "How would you do it?" first.
