17 DIY Halloween Costumes Based on the Purge Franchise

It's time to start brainstorming some ideas for the perfect Halloween costume, and believe us when we say nothing screams scary like The Purge. Ever since the chilling horror film series burst onto the scene in 2013, the pop culture phenomenon has become a Halloween staple year in and year out.

In case you missed the initial hype, the Purge films and television series all revolve around one day every year when, in a 12-hour period, all crime (including murder and wearing white after Labor Day) is legal in a dystopian America. The horror franchise is a huge success both critically and financially and is an easy, affordable, and creative subject for many Halloween costumes.

For the past few years, Halloween-goers young and old have used the Purge franchise and its iconic, creepy, Instagram-worthy masks as their spooky-season inspiration. In a 2018 interview with the Motion Picture Association, "The First Purge" costume designer Amela Baksic dished on where the franchise's masks come from and the secret to making a perfect Purge mask. "Gerard McMurray, our director, and Sebastien Lemercier, our producer, pointed me in the direction of Cajun Mardi Gras, which has a number of very unusual and inventive masks," she explained. "I also looked at Haitian carnival masks, which incorporate bull imagery, and have inspired the bull mask used in the Purge party, featured on a lot of posters . . . The key to creating a successful Purge mask, is [a] certain simplicity and DIY quality—not looking too finished or overly designed."

Get inspired and DIY these terrifying Purge costume ideas ahead.

Additional reporting by Lauren Harano

01

Purge Costume: The Couple That Slays Together Stays Together

  • What to wear: In order to recreate this look, you'll need white long-sleeve button-up shirts, black pants, shoes (boots, sneakers, or dress shoes will suffice), some fake blood to smear across your outfit, and creepy masks (which you can find online for a reasonable price on Amazon).
02

Purge Costume: Killer Besties

  • What to wear: These matching best friend Purge costumes are going to require a lot of fake blood (bonus points if you spread out some fake bloody handprints on a wall for the full effect). You'll also need fake gold-colored guns, one black and one white short lacy dress, black and white stockings, and, of course, creepy masks.
03

Purge Costume: Candy Girl

  • What to wear: Another "Kiss Me" Purge costume idea but with an even creepier twist. To replicate this, you'll need some fake blood to spell out the phrase and an off-white sculpted mask with a scary painted face.
04

Purge Costume: A Killer and Her Boo

  • What to wear: You can easily copy this killer Purge couple costume with just a few things. For the girl's outfit: grab a white button-up shirt, skinny black pants or shorts, black heeled boots, and a knife. For the guy: you'll need a white button-up shirt, black trousers, a blazer, and a knife. To top off both looks, you'll want to get some fake blood and matching creepy masks.
05

Purge Costume: Hell Hath No Fury Than a Woman Scorned

  • What to wear: This Purge costume is super easy to recreate; you'll only need a fake machete, thin white button-up shirt/dress, and a creepy smiley mask.
06

Purge Costume: The Streets Aren't Safe

  • What to wear: For this look, you'll need a white long-sleeve top, black skirt with suspenders, black wedge heels, a knife, and a creepy mask.
07

Purge Costume: Till Death Do Us Part

  • What to wear: These ride-or-die Purge costumes don't take much to replicate. For the guy's look: you'll need a black suit and tie with a white button-up shirt, black shoes, a long silver gun, and a scary mask. For the girl's outfit: grab a long-sleeve belted suit dress, black sneakers, a fake bloody machete, and a creepy mask.
08

Purge Costume: Don't Miss Your Shot

  • What to wear: Copy this Purge costume idea with a black cami crop top, black denim shorts, black lace stockings, a white button up shirt, a little fake blood, a white gun, and a scary white mask with red painted lips and an upside down cross drawn on it.
09

Purge Costume: Beware

  • What to wear: Pull up a Purge squad by recreating these looks with black hoodies and long sleeve tops, black pants and shoes, a few fake knives, and creepy masks.
10

Purge Costume: Superscary

  • What to wear: To recreate this Purge Halloween costume, you'll just need a white cut-out top, plastic white mask decorated as a skull, and a dash of fake blood.
11

Purge Costume: Kiss Me

  • What to wear: This terrifying Purge costume just needs a white button-up shirt and some creepy designs added to a scary mask. Be sure to grab some fake blood to smear and write "Kiss Me" across the forehead of the mask.
12

Purge Costume: Going For the Kill

  • What to wear: Another scary Purge couples costume idea that just needs a few items to replicate the looks. For the girl's outfit: you'll need a white dress, black tights, a small fake gun, and a creepy mask. For the guy, grab a gray vest, short sleeve white button-up shirt, black pants, and a long fake gun.
13

Purge Costume: Ready to Kill

  • What to wear: This Purge couples costume requires two creepy masks, white and gray button-up shirts, a baseball bat, a fake rifle gun, and a black suit jacket.
14

Purge Costume: Animals

  • What to wear: These animals Purge costumes require two pig masks, a plain white t-shirt, fishnet stockings, black shorts, a white button up shirt, black vest, blue patterned tie, and black shoes. You'll also need two fake guns and a fake bullet belt.
15

Purge Costume: Time to Die

  • What to wear: This paired Purge costume idea will require a white nightgown, a knife, a prep school uniform, and two creepy smiley masks.
16

Purge Costume: An Artsy Killer

  • What to wear: Instead of going with typical black-and-white face paint, put a twist on the usual Purge masks by using psychedelic colors like green and yellow. Pair the look with a matching costume wig off Amazon and the obligatory costume dagger with fake blood on it.
17

Purge Costume: Killer Ballerina

  • What to wear: If you are a dancer and have a ton of white corsets, tutus, and leotards lying around, you're already three-quarters of the way to a perfect Purge costume. Splatter some blood all over your white getup, throw on your "Kiss Me" mask, carry around a bat forebodingly, and voila!