Elena Nicolaou of Refinery29 examined the episode's use of the Biblical figure of Lilith, which they noted had become more common in modern day media and looked to ' a different model, another way forward'. 'Pure' deals with themes of purity, female empowerment, and toxic masculinity. It was intended to coincide with Daughter's Day, which is traditionally held in September. 'Pure' was released onto Hulu on September 6, 2019. Jahkara Smith was brought on to portray one of the lead female roles, Shay, starring alongside McKaley Miller, who plays her half-sister Jo. Macpherson wanted this to be a discussion point, as she felt that it was 'not about religion, although most religions should look at their approach to gender equality, but it's about power and control and oppression.'

She also considered 'Pure' to be a 'reverse possession' film due to the character of Shay begging for possession and the power to 'punish those who have taken the girls’ power away'. Macpherson particularly wanted Seth to come across as initially 'cool and charismatic and good-natured and passionate about his message'. She wanted the story to 'stay far away from any mustache-twirling villains for the fathers' and wanted both the fathers and Pastor Seth to feel realistic and potentially relatable. In an interview with Deadline Hollywood, Macpherson noted that she was not aware of the purity ball subculture before Blumhouse Television approached her with the film concept. Hannah Macpherson directed the feature length episode and wrote its teleplay, which was based on a story she came up with alongside Paul Fischer and Paul Davis. Inspiration for 'Pure' was taken from the Daughter's Day holiday, which is intended to celebrate daughters and recognize their worth. The girls' bodies are shown huddled on the floor before a scene shows them walking away to the woods, led by Lilith. Lilith enters the body of a pleading Shay and uses her powers to control and then kill the men before setting the retreat on fire, stating that she's watched women suffer for long enough. Other girls stand up to their fathers and Lacey admits to not upholding her father's commands before shooting herself with a gun Seth carried, unable to live with the torture he put her through and her conflicting emotions. She confesses to lying about her virginity for Kyle's approval, but that she's not ashamed of her sexuality. This angers Shay and when Seth tries to gather everyone to sign a purity contract, Shay refuses. She'd kept this secret due to wanting her father's approval. Jo decides to lose her virginity to her boyfriend, only to be caught and captured by her father and Seth.Īt the purity ball the following day a distraught Jo admits to a worried Shay that Kyle had known about her since birth, but deliberately chose to exclude her until now. Shay also finds that she strongly disagrees with the retreat's ideals and methods, telling her cabin mates, one of whom is Seth's daughter Lacey, that they should exert control over their own bodies and sexuality. She discovers that it would be successful as long as one of the participants wasn't a virgin and that the ritual would culminate with Lilith possessing the woman's body. This year's ritual appears successful and Shay starts experiencing strange phenomena, prompting her to investigate the ritual. Later that night Shay is included in a ritual to summon Lilith, which Jo secretly holds every year with her cabin mates. At the retreat Shay and the other girls listen to sermons by conservative Pastor Seth about Lilith, who he portrays as lusty and sinful due to being created equal, and Eve, who he depicts as symbolic of women's weakness. Jo is dismissive of the retreat, seeing it as patriarchal, antiquated nonsense, while Shay hopes to use it to grow closer to her dad. She knows neither person very well, as she only met them after the death of her mother two months prior. Shay is attending a purity ball with her father Kyle and her rebellious half-sister Jo.

Pure movie