System Purge

The Security Guards about to be attacked by the first wave of monsters during the System Purge.

Guards being attacked by the First Wave.

"Let's get this party started."

- Dana right before pressing the button.

The System Purge, (also called "The Purge" or "The Carnage"), was when Marty Mikalski and Dana Polk unleashed all the monsters in the glass rooms into The Facility. This was accomplished with a button in the control panel marked "System Purge."

During the Purge, each and every one of The Facility's monsters are let out in waves, eight at a time.

• The first wave of monsters included (from left to right) the Dragonbat, the Angry Molesting Tree, the Zombies, the Dismemberment Goblins, the Giant Snake, the Killer Robot, a Witch and the Werewolf.

• When it came to the second wave, Fornicus, Lord of Bondage and Pain, the Alien Beast, and the Dolls were seen emerging while the other creatures that emerged at the time weren't identified during the massacre of the second wave of security. Though the five possible creatures judging by the sounds heard during the moment might have been the following: Rabid Dogs, Sasquatch/ Wendigo/ Yeti, Witch (Left 4 Dead), Giant Owl and the Giant Alligator

The monsters end up killing off most of the Facility Staff including Steve Hadley, Wendy Lin, and Daniel Truman, but there are probably survivors.

The only monsters that are killed in the purge are the Mutant in the Hospital Gown and the Scarecrow Folk

System Purge button

Why the facility had the need for a System Purge is unknown, but it is likely that this is a reference to the eleventh-hour deus ex machina that is a common trope in the horror genre.

It can be safely assumed that the Facility had never faced a problem like this in the past, or a mere possibility stands that they hadn't faced such a problem like so in a while, but even if this stood true, there at least would have been stronger security. During the event, many futile attempts to contain the outbreak were attempted in Command. It can be assumed when Marty and Dana were wiring access to the elevator, that the wires they cut were important to the system's security access and procedures. This assumption is even more plausible once you remember that the tunnel didn't collapse when it was supposed to because, according to a demolition staff member, "there was a glitch - a power re-route from upstairs," which was probably Marty tampering with the unguarded panel near the elevator

Monsters shown during the System Purge

• Alien Beast - It is seen leaping out of an elevator onto a security guard during the Purge's second wave.
• American Slow-Walking Creepy Girl - She was moving slowly towards an injured guard.
• Angry Molesting Tree - It is released during the Purge and can be seen grabbing a guard and dragging him into the elevator. The elevator then spews out just blood from the entrance, showing that the Tree aggressively killed the guard in an unseen manner. It is then seen later on a monitor using its roots to drag an unconscious worker offscreen.
• Balding Menace - He is released during the System Purge and can be briefly seen on a computer monitor attacking two Facility workers.
• Clowns - A Clown was about to attack a female who kept shooting it.
• Creature with Patterned Segments of Armor on its Head - It can be seen on one of the monitors Wendy Lin is watching as Truman passes her, where it is seen eating a worker's intestines.
• Cyclops - Seen on a monitor right as Dana pressed the System Purge button and may have been seen on one of the Control Room monitors during the Purge.
• Deadites - One is seen grabbing a worker and throwing him over the railing to the Giant Snake during the System Purge.
• Demons - Seen attacking a staff on one of the monitors in the main control room.
• Dismemberment Goblins - The Dismemberment Goblins tore apart a security guard and were later seen riding in a golf cart carrying a head.
• Dolls - They can also be seen in a camera view angle binding Facility workers together and dousing them in gasoline before setting them ablaze.
• Dragonbat - It is seen in the first wave attacking the guards. Ronald the Intern can be seen holding up a sign to one of the cameras in the main security room, claiming that the monster has his scent and he needs help fast. It later flew through the window of the control room that Marty and Dana were hiding in, causing them to flee. It then pursued them briefly before finding a scientist to snatch up and kill, and then flew off to terrorize the other government workers remaining in the facility as it flies by the American Slow-Walking Creepy Girl.
• Fornicus, Lord of Bondage and Pain - He can be seen with two Facility workers chained together upside down beside one of Fornicus's minions/partners where they are presumably about to torture them before the monitor switches.
• Giant - It was replaced by the Angry Molesting Tree in the original script.
• Giant Owl- It are not seen in the purge, but a hooting sound is heard during the second wave's massacre, meaning that it had killed a soldier
• Giant Snake - It is let out during the Purge during the first wave. It wraps its body around one soldier and squeezes him to death while swallowing another soldier whole, all within a matter of moments. The snake later eats a man who is flung over a railing by one of the Deadites, catching him in its mouth before he even hits the ground.
• Giant Tarantula - It is later seen breaking into the Control Room during the Purge where Hadley then proceeds to shoot at it.
• Hell Lord Minion - He can be seen with Fornicus beside two Facility workers chained together upside down, where he is seen holding a vague-structured weapon and coldly staring at the 2 victims that are about to be tortured.
• Jack O'Lantern - He is let loose from his cell during the Purge. One of the video monitors shows it burning people with its fire breath.
• Kevin - He was in a deleted scene where he he walks through the post-Purge chaos, until he comes across an injured guard and then proceeds to "exsanguinate him in a second." When Dana finds the guard, he appears "untarnished, but Dana had never seen anyone more dead." Due to his normal appearance, any normal looking human seen in the purge could be Kevin.
• Killer Robot - The robot is seen throughout the Purge when the elevators first open, killing two guards. It is later seen on security footage scrambling after facility workers down a flight of stairs, swinging its buzz-saws madly about.
• Klu Klux Klan - They are vaguely seen running amok in The Facility during the Purge as a Werewolf runs by them.
• Man in Transparent Tarp - It is shown on a monitor wandering around the public bathrooms looking for its victim that run in there and hid
• Merman - It crawls into the control room and kills Steve Hadley.
• Mummy - The mummy is seen during the System Purge in the corner of the camera trying to grab a hysterical worker as he runs past the Dismemberment Goblins on their stolen golf cart.
• Mutant Girl - As revealed by a behind the scenes video, she is briefly seen during the carnage of the Purge, but she is not seen attacking anyone.
• Mutant in Hospital Gown - It is seen coming out of its cube cell and runs at Marty, but before it can attack him, he shoots it in the eye, killing the mutant.
• Mutants - They first appear on a monitor as they hold a victim down while another vomits into the captive's mouth. The second time when a Mutant in a hospital gown attempts to kill Marty before being shot in the head.
• Patience Buckner - She appeared re-entering through the elevator during the System Purge.
• Pterodactyls - As mentioned by the actress who plays Dana Polk, the Pterodactyls appear in a deleted scene where they chase Dana during the Purge.
• Rabid Dogs - They are shown briefly during the Purge, mauling a facility worker on a monitor in the control room. A better view of them can be seen in the special features on the DVD.
• Reaver - During their appearance, a woman can be seen shooting herself to escape them.
• Reptilius - It is released during the System Purge and can be seen on a computer monitor approaching a woman from behind about to attack and kill her.
• Sasquatch / Wendigo / Yeti - The Sasquatch/Wendigo/Yeti is shown only briefly on a monitor during the System Purge in The Facility Locker Rooms beating a member of the Security Force to death.
• Savage with Hatchet - He is seen chasing a scientist down a hallway as the Dismemberment Goblins drive by on their stolen golf cart.
• Sugarplum Fairy - During the System Purge, she is seen in a camera view angle dancing.
• The Blob - In the DVD features, it was shown during the System Purge in a deleted scene where it is shown coming up through a sink and attaching itself to a worker's face in order to consume him.
• The Doctors - They are seen in a quick camera view preparing to perform surgery on a worker who is yelling "Please don't cut!" One of the doctors is seen holding up a bloody scalpel before the camera cuts.
• The Huron - He is seen scalping a pinned worker in the facility, though it is hard to find him during the purge
• The Kraken - It is seen breaking through the ceiling of the Control Room when Richard Sitterson and Wendy Lin are trying to escape through the secret service tunnel. It then proceeds to wrap around Wendy Lin and drag her up and away, presumably killing her.
• The Reanimated - It was seen on the ceiling examining a camera.
• The Reptilian - In the DVD features, it was shown during the System Purge in a deleted scene chasing workers down a hallway.
• The Scarecrow Folk - They are seen assaulting the control room where they attack Daniel Truman by holding him down on the floor, stabbing him repeatedly. They are destroyed by a grenade Truman detonated to sacrifice himself along with them.
• The Suffocators - One of them was seen on a monitor in the control room suffocating a person with a plastic bag.
• The Undead War Monger - He is seen attacking a worker with a club just before the Deadite throws a worker over the railing to the Giant Snake.
• Twins - They can also be seen in one of the monitors slowly following someone that has been set on fire.
• Unicorn - It chases and stabs a worker with its horn.
• Vampires - A vampire can be seen on one of the monitors in the control room, slowly creeping out of the darkness behind a facility worker.
• Werewolf - The werewolf is in the first wave of monsters where it kills one of the guards and then howls. Amongst the chaos in the Facility, the Werewolf attacks a worker.
• Witches - A witch can be seen in the first wave of the Purge snatching the soul of a security guard before flying off. It look like a bolt of light neon blue rays running through the victims bodies. The same witch is seen later on one of the monitors in the Control Room, stealing the soul of a woman attempting to run from her.
• Wraiths - A wraith is seen in a corridor where it is chasing the staff members.
• Zombies - They are seen during the beginning of the Purge overwhelming a guard in the first wave then later consuming what was left of the Security force, and later on chasing Dana and Marty after their encounter with the Dragonbat. They can be seen on monitors throughout the purge attacking and eating facility workers who are either crawling away from the zombies in terror or are already dead.

Monsters shown and mentioned during the System Purge in the Novelization

• Alien Beast - It was one of the monsters released during the first wave of the Purge and is seen killing a security guard.

• Boil Covered Monster - It tries to attack Marty and Dana before being shot in the eye and killed. Ir was replaced in the film by a Mutant wearing a hospital gown; may have been an extremely large Mutant or the Boomer. 

• Clowns - A Clown was about to attack a group of workers and security guards hiding behind a small barricade.

• Deadites - The scene where a worker is thrown over the rotunda by a monster, a Deadite, is included in the novelization.

• Demons - It is mentioned by Dana when she and Marty enter the Ritual Chamber meaning that she saw them being released from the elevators during the Purge.

• Dismemberment Goblins - The Dismemberment Goblins are seen running over workers in a stolen golf cart.

• Dragonbat - He appears and crashes through the window where Dana and Marty were, having them flee. He was generous enough to help them escape by flying through a guard and leaving a hole in the wall that leads to the sacrifice chamber

• Fire Mouthed Woman - She was one of the many "Unblooded" monsters seen exiting the elevators during the System Purge.

• Fornicus, Lord of Bondage and Pain - He was one of the many "Unblooded" monsters seen exiting the elevators during the System Purge.

• Four Eyed Monster with a mouth like a Sea Creature's - Dana and Marty encounter it emptying a guard's head of brain matter and fluid when they are fleeing from the Dragonbat. It may have been the Cthulhu Creature or the Slimey Horned Cloak Creature.

• Infant Creatures - Dana and Marty encounter them feasting on the remains of a female worker while fleeing from the monsters down the passageway leading to the Ritual Chamber. They are only described as infant creatures. It is possible that they were the Exploding Shard Babies.

• Kevin - It is unknown if it is mentioned or shown in the purge

• Killer Robot - It is unknown if it is mentioned or shown in the purge

• Merman - It crawls into the Control Room and bites Steve Hadley's face off, killing him

• Mutants - It is unknown if they are mentioned or shown during the purge

• Patience Buckner - She appeared re-entering through the elevator during the System Purge.

• The Kraken - It breaks into the Control Room when Richard Sitterson and Wendy Lin are trying to escape through the secret service tunnel. It then proceeds to wrap one of its tentacles around Wendy Lin's neck and drags her away into the gloom, presumably killing her.

• The Scarecrow Folk - They are seen breaking into the Control Room through a hole knocked into the door by a creature where they attack Daniel Truman by holding him down on the floor, biting and stabbing him repeatedly. Steve Hadley tries to save him by shooting the Scarecrow Folk with his machine gun, but they just laugh off the bullets. They are destroyed by a grenade Truman detonated to sacrifice himself along with them.

• Unicorn - It is seen on a monitor where it chases and gores a worker with its horn.

• Vampires - It is unknown if they appear in the purge or are mentioned

• Werewolf - It is unknown if it appears in the purge

• Witches - It is unknown if he is mentioned or shown during the purge

• Wraiths - The scene where workers are chased down a hallway by monsters, a Wraith and a Deadite, is included in the novelization.

• Zombies - It is unknown if they appear or are mentioned in the purge