System Purge

"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 squad of security. Though the six possible creatures judging by the sounds heard during the moment might have been the following: the Rabid Dogs, Sasquatch / Wendigo / Yeti, the Witch (Left 4 Dead), the Tank, the 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 known to have been killed in the purge are the Mutant in Hospital Gown and The Scarecrow Folk. Monsters such as zombies were known to be killable with conventional weaponry, but whether or not any of them were actually killed during the purge remains unknown.

System Purge Button
Why the facility had the need for a System Purge is unknown, as is why the central control room would have no means of interrupting such a disastrous function. It is also unknown why the procedure would be so simple that it could be performed by a single person, and why the captive horrors would need to be released into the facility itself rather than to some location where they would not pose an immediate threat. Equally unexplained is how Dana would intuit the precise sequence of controls to activate in the control booth to make this occur. It is likely that the entire arrangement is a reference to the eleventh-hour deus ex machina that is a common trope in the horror genre.

In the novelization, after Marty Mikalski is revealed to have survived, facility staff note that once they took him out and completed the ritual there were likely to be new rules, restrictions, and requirements in place; it's possible The Ancient Ones demanded such a button exist for their own reasons.

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; Steve Hadley and Gary Sitterson, while attempting to control the situation, state that there was supposed to be gas flooding the Facility that would presumably kill or incapacitate the monsters, but "something chewed through the connection to the utility shaft" before it could be activated.

Monsters shown during the System Purge

 * Alien Beast - It is shown leaping out of an elevator on to a security guard‘s face during the Purge's second wave.
 * American Slow-Walking Creepy Girl - She was shown 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 a 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 shown stabbing a worker in the stomach before turning to face a security guard, who later kills her.
 * 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 while carrying a severed 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. 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 was not seen in the purge, but a hooting sound is heard during the massacre of the second security team.
 * Giant Alligator - an Alligator growl can be heard alongside the giant owl's hooting. meaning that the giant alligator had been released during the second wave of monsters and it may have been set loose somewhere in the facility while killing random facility workers.
 * 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 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 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 following a fleeing worker into the stalls of the public bathroom, which it then hits its sledgehammer against the stall the worker is hiding in.
 * 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 restraining a scientist while one of them vomits into the captive's mouth.
 * 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 two of them 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 in the Purge, a woman can be seen on a monitor shooting herself in order to escape the Reaver while two men hold the door shut in order to prevent them from entering the room. This is a direct homage to a scene in the film Serenity where a woman tried and failed to do the same thing to escape being captured by the Reaver.
 * Reptilius - It is released during the System Purge and can be seen on a computer monitor stalking a woman.
 * Sasquatch / Wendigo / Yeti - The Sasquatch/Wendigo/Yeti is shown only briefly on a monitor during the System Purge in The Facility Locker Rooms throwing a security guard against the lockers.
 * 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 yells "Please don't cut!" One of the doctors is seen holding up a bloody scalpel before the camera switches.
 * 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 Gary Sitterson and Wendy Lin are trying to escape through the secret service tunnel. It then proceeds to wrap around Wendy Lin and drag her into the ceiling, 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. 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 the bodies of the security guards, 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. It 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 inadvertently helped 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 - Kevin was mentioned, and came in during the Post-Purge chaos, quickly exsanguinating an injured guard in mere seconds.


 * Killer Robot - It was released during the first wave and killed several personnel using its sawblades.


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


 * Mutants - The Mutants are seen vomiting an acidic liquid onto a scientist.


 * 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 ramming its horn into a scientist.


 * Vampires - It is seen sneaking on a female scientist.


 * Werewolf - It chases a scientist, eating him.


 * Witches - It sucks a soul out of a Security Guard.


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


 * Zombies - They are seen eating the remains of dead security guards.