Forever Purge, The 4K Ultra HD

In "The Forever Purge," the old rules of the Purge are broken as members of an underground movement, no longer satisfied with the annual night of anarchy and murder, decide to overtake America through an unending campaign of mayhem and massacre. No one is safe. On the morning after the Purge, a masked gang of killers attacks a wealthy Texas ranching family and their workers. Exposed by daylight, the two groups are forced to band together and fight back as the country spirals into chaos and the United States begins to disintegrate around them. (Gary Reber)

Special features include an alternate storyboard opening (HD 01:40), a deleted scene (HD 01:26), the featurettes "Collapsing The System: Behind The Forever Purge" (HD 08:00) and "Creeptastic Wardrobe" (HD 02:06), the theatrical trailer and a Movies Anywhere digital code.

The 1.85:1 2.39:1 2160p HEVC/H.265 Ultra HD HDR10/Dolby Vision picture, reviewed on a Sony Bravia Z9D 4K Ultra HD HDR display, was photographed digitally using the Arri Alexa Mini LF camera system and sourced from a 2K (not 4K) master Digital Intermediate format. As the 2K Digital Intermediate has been upconverted to 2160p, there is no real gain in native resolution. The picture exhibits excellent sharpness and clarity. Resolution reveals fine detail and textural qualities. Colors are bold and nicely saturated. The wider color gamut effectively exposes nuances in color density and hue shadings. Facial features are natural throughout. The barren desert terrain in the opening scenes is realistic and vivid. This transitions to city streets with blood-soaked pavement and storefronts. HDR contrast delivers natural black levels, revealing shadows, and natural white levels. This is a very satisfying visual experience, though, the imagery exhibits often quite intense violence. This is an impactful visual experience that portends a bleak future. (Gary Reber)

The Dolby Atmos/Dolby TrueHD 7.1-channel soundtrack is dynamically nuanced throughout and provides impressive realism, though, of the mayhem resulting from the "purging" that lies at the heart of the story. Atmospherics are realistic sounding and sound effects, such as gunfire and a tank blast, sound naturally dynamic and powerful with deep .1 LFE bass enhancement. Surround energy and envelopment are effective in delivering a sense of spatial dimensionality. The orchestral score occupies a wide and deep soundstage that extends to provide surround envelopment.

The Immersive Sound element is comprised of intense choral and orchestral music extension. Further, there are some dialogue effects, an agitated horse, a voice from a Purge vehicle announcing "the purification of America," nuanced screams, announcements of "anarchy" and "under marshall law," subtle voices in a fight, and minor atmospherics and sound effects. The strong music extension really makes for an effective height layer.

This is an excellent holosonic® ear level soundtrack with at times effective spatial dimensionality. (Gary Reber)