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‘One Night Only’ Director Understands The “Sex Purge” Comparisons
Director Will Gluck has responded to online comparisons between his new romantic comedy One Night Only and Blumhouse's dystopian Purge franchise, saying he understands why viewers are drawing the parallel. Speaking to SlashFilm, Gluck said he was aware of the "sex Purge" discourse but wanted the film to focus on its central characters rather than dwelling on the bleak premise underpinning its world.
One Night Only, now in cinemas from Universal, stars Callum Turner and Monica Barbaro as two New Yorkers who meet on the single night each year when premarital sex is legal under a "chastity mandate". Gluck said he aimed to explain the dystopian setting without letting it overwhelm the story, presenting both sides of the situation while keeping the focus on his two leads navigating one chaotic night. The comparison echoes The Purge, the Blumhouse horror franchise launched in 2013, in which all crime becomes legal for one 12-hour period each year, though Gluck's film keeps a far lighter tone.
In short
- Will Gluck addresses "sex Purge" comparisons to his new rom-com
- One Night Only stars Callum Turner and Monica Barbaro, now in cinemas
- Film imagines one legal night for premarital sex under a "chastity mandate"
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
A shared structural premise—one night per year when something normally forbidden becomes legal—is a sufficiently broad concept that different creators can explore it meaningfully in different ways. What defines a film is its execution, tone, and themes. Gluck's romantic comedy approach and character-focused storytelling offer a fundamentally different exploration from The Purge's horror franchise, making these substantively distinct works despite surface similarities.
The case against
The core premise is too similar to The Purge to be coincidental, and using a dystopian setting established by another recent franchise risks appearing derivative regardless of tonal differences. More troublingly, the romantic comedy treatment may trivialise what the premise actually suggests: a totalitarian state controlling reproduction and bodily autonomy. Treating such implications as mere backdrop for a meet-cute narrative rather than engaging seriously with them risks undermining the premise's darker weight.
Explained simply
One Night Only is a romantic comedy set in a version of New York where a “chastity mandate” bans premarital sex for most of the year. The rule is suspended for one night annually, when Callum Turner and Monica Barbaro’s characters meet.
The unusual rule has led viewers to compare the film’s premise with The Purge, a horror franchise in which crime is legal for 12 hours once a year. Both stories centre on a temporary break in strict laws, but One Night Only takes a lighter approach and follows its two leads through the night.