James Sandin

A wealthy salesman whose security system couldn't save him from the annual Purge.

James Sandin is a fictional character from the 2013 American action horror film The Purge, written and directed by James DeMonaco. He is portrayed by actor Ethan Hawke. In the film, set in the year 2022, James is a wealthy security systems salesman who returns to his home in an affluent L.A. gated community to wait out the annual Purge with his wife, Mary, and their two children, Zoey and Charlie. He is the top salesman in his company and has sold his upgraded security system to multiple neighbors. During the Purge, he retrieves a revolver from a gun safe and assures his family that his system will protect them. James is ultimately stabbed by the leader of a group of wealthy young hunters and dies from his wounds.

Lore & Background

James Sandin is the patriarch of the Sandin family in The Purge. He works as a security systems salesman and is the top salesman in his company, having sold his upgraded system to multiple neighbors. He believes the Purge has rid the country of poverty and crime by giving people an outlet for their pent-up anger, a view he explains to his son Charlie during a family dinner. James enables the security system shortly before the Purge begins, sealing the doors and windows with metal plating.

When his daughter Zoey's older boyfriend, Henry, sneaks inside and tries to shoot James, James returns fire and mortally wounds Henry. Later, after a wounded stranger is let inside by Charlie, a gang of masked young adults arrives demanding the stranger. James admits that his security system, while superficially impressive, cannot resist a systematic assault. The family initially captures the stranger to hand him over but decides to defend him instead.

James kills several gang members but is stabbed by the leader. He dies from his wounds, and his wife Mary later shoots neighbor Mr. Ferrin with a shotgun after the neighbors intervene and then turn on the Sandins.

Reader's Guide

James Sandin is a central character in The Purge, the first installment in the Purge franchise. The film is set in 2022, following an economic collapse in the United States that led to the rise of the New Founding Fathers of America, who created an annual 12-hour Purge during which all crime using a 'Class 4' weapon or lower is legal. By 2022, the economy is booming, with unemployment at 1% and crime at an all-time low, which many attribute to the Purge.

James lives in an affluent L.A. gated community and works as a security systems salesman. He is the top salesman in his company and has sold his upgraded system to multiple neighbors. During the Purge, he retrieves a pistol from a gun safe and enables his security system, which seals the doors and windows with metal plating. He kills Zoey's boyfriend Henry in self-defense.

When a gang of Purgers arrives demanding a wounded stranger, James initially tries to hand the stranger over but ultimately decides to defend him. James kills several gang members but is stabbed by the leader and dies from his wounds. His wife Mary survives and forces their neighbors, who had turned on them, to leave. Ethan Hawke agreed to $10,000 up front for his involvement and later made $2 million in backend compensation.

Hawke reprises his role as James Sandin in the opening scene of '7:01am', the series finale of The Purge television series.

Did You Know?

Hawke slept on producer Jason Blum's couch during the course of filming.
The film The Purge was shot in Los Angeles with a production budget of $3 million.