Trailer for New ‘Purge’ Movie Features Scene of Downtown El Paso

The just-released trailer for the new "Purge" sequel, "The Forever Purge," is getting a bit of a buzz on El Paso social media because of a scene featuring a downtown El Paso landmark.

The "ElectriCity" sign that sits atop the Martin Lofts building gets a closeup towards the end of the trailer. It’s a quick shot, maybe a second and a half, but in that short time you can also see the lit-up Plaza sign in the background and the sea of white dots every El Pasoan who has ever stood at Scenic Drive and looked beyond knows is the lights of Juarez.

Movie trailers don't give a whole lot of context, but El Paso’s role in the flick appears to be more of a cameo than a starring role.

Other than the quick flyover shown in the trailer, it doesn’t look like any other scenes were actually shot here in El Paso or in the area. According to an entry about the movie on Wikipedia, filming was done entirely in California.

The Forever Purge

The Forever Purge is a direct sequel to The Purge: Election Year and is the fifth and final installment in the franchise. It will hit theaters on July 2, 2021. Here’s a summary of the plot, per Wikipedia:

Following the presidential elections from the last year and abolition of the Purge, a Mexican couple escaping from a drug cartel is stranded on a Texas ranch. There, they will be at the mercy of a group of outsiders who plan to unlawfully continue their own Purge.

From what I’ve been able to determine from the movie trailer below, they have to fight their way from wherever the ranch is to the Mexican border. Presumably, that’s how El Paso gets in to the mix and why the trailer includes exterior shot of the ElectriCity building fly-over.

By the way, one of its main characters is played by Josh Lucas whom you’ll recall played the legendary UTEP basketball coach Don Haskins in the movie “Glory Road”.

More About the ElectriCity Sign

The "ElectriCity" sign has stood atop of the Martin Lofts apartments, located at Mills and Stanton, since 2016.

Formally known as the Martin Building, it was the El Paso Electric headquarters for more than half a century, beginning in 1924. It also had large illuminated letters on top when it belonged to EPE. Back then it read, "Use Electricity."

When El Paso businessman Lane Gaddy bought the property and renovated it, he used the building’s history as inspiration and created and installed the 6-foot tall "ElectriCity" sign.