Frightening, action-packed The First Purge trailer released

The first trailer has been released for the fourth film in the cult hit horror/action franchise, The Purge.

While overt references to Donald Trump's US presidential campaign were made in the previous film and an initial teaser image for The First Purge, they're noticeablly absent in the new video.

Instead, the trailer focuses on maximising intensity.

The official synopsis of The First Purge is as follows:

"To push the crime rate below 1 percent for the rest of the year, the New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA) test a sociological theory that vents aggression for one night in one isolated community," it reads.

"But when the violence of oppressors meets the rage of the marginalised, the contagion will explode from the trial-city borders and spread across the nation".

Despite not all the previous Purge films being released theatrically in New Zealand, The First Purge is heading to cinemas here on August 2.

Newshub.