Horror Film Franchise Eyeballs City

by
Russ Olivo
rolivo@woonsocketcall.com

WOONSOCKET — Hollywood is back in the Ocean State, this time to film another installment of “The Purge” series of thrillers, and one downtown businessman says the filmmakers are taking a hard look at his convenience store as a location set.

Richard Rogers, the owner of Kwik Mart, located at 118 Main St., says representatives of the picture have visited the store twice and told him it could become “a big part” of “The Purge 3.”

Rogers says they’ve told him they want to rent the entire store for nearly a month beginning in early September, which means he’d have to terminate operations during the shoot.

“They said they’re going to come back and talk to me some more, hopefully in the next couple of days,” he said. “I haven’t signed anything yet.”

“The Purge” — the original, that is — debuted in 2012 and featured Ethan Hawke in a starring role. The picture earned about $89 million worldwide, but a 2014 sequel did substantially better, which makes it easier to understand why a third installment is in the works.