Violent Night (2022)

[Eric Duncan]

Discuss

[Webslinger]

Fully embracing its B-movie concept with over-the-top gore, unabashedly silly gags, and the ironic juxtaposition of all of it with Santa Claus and Christmas imagery, Violent Night is about as much dumb fun as its premise and trailers would suggest. Unlike in his abysmal 2013 horror-comedy hybrid Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, director Tommy Wirkola strikes the right balance between gleefully graphic violence and effective dark comedy, keeping the proceedings enjoyably silly from scene to scene. David Harbour brings fun energy to a Santa whose cynicism is melted by facing down a team of mercenaries to save an innocent little girl. Harbour leans into the silliness like a pro and makes for a surprisingly fun action hero in the giddily exaggerated action set pieces. There’s also fun comedic work from John Leguizamo, Edi Patterson, Cam Gigandet (did not see a performance this funny coming from the guy best known for being the forgettable villain in the first Twilight), and Beverly D’Angelo. It admittedly does run a bit too long for its premise and won’t tickle everyone’s fancy, but for those who can get onboard with its brand of bloody, festive silliness, it's a fun, decidedly off-kilter Christmas movie. 

 

B

[filmlover]

I had plenty of fun with this. It’s basically Die Hard, Home Alone (one scene pays hilarious homage to that classic in particular), and a cheesy Hallmark holiday movie thrown into a blender, but it’s got plenty of giddily gory set pieces and solid laughs to go around, and I actually enjoyed that it embraced some of the typical Christmas movie tropes (the dysfunctional family Christmas get-together, the gooey sentiment, etc.) amidst all the graphic violence. This is the perfect action vehicle for David Harbour, establishing himself as a viable badass while committing fully to the inherent silliness of the entire enterprise. The rest of the cast offers enjoyable performances, with John Leguizamo especially delightful chewing on the scenery as the main baddie. This probably won’t become an alternative holiday classic but it’s an enjoyably bonkers time that’s worth seeing in a movie theater. B

[SchumacherFTW]

I am a simple man, I just wanted to see Santa beat the hell out of people in fun ways. And I got exactly what I wanted for Christmas right there.

 

3.5/5

[Kent Tosh]

Violent Night is not only the greatest Christmas movie. It is also, quite possibly, the Absolute Greatest Movie Of All Time! It touches base on issues such as; what's wrong with humanity today; as well as the importance of true family values, and how if we all come together, to stand against those that mean to harm us, we can overcome anything. Also it is just absolutely hilarious and action packed. Bravo to the entire team of writers, directors, producers, actors and just everyone who had a hand in the making of that film. Thank you to you all. I needed that. Truly an amazing job. Hell, I'm 38 almost 39 and it made me want to believe in Santa again... LMAO... Positively loved it...