The Purge is an American 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 directed by James DeMonaco, who was inspired by a Star Trek: The Original Series episode, "The Return of the Archons". The films present a seemingly normal, crime-free America in the near-future. But the truth is that the country is a dystopia which celebrates an annual national holiday known as the Purge, a day in which all crime, including murder, becomes legal for a 12-hour period.