About the film (courtesy of Universal Pictures):
When a group of mercenaries attack the estate of a wealthy family, Santa Claus must step in to save the day (and Christmas).
If you want to get into a nontraditional, fun holiday frame of mind, Violent Night will have you feeling all kinds of jolly upon leaving the theater. That’s why I’m giving it four out of five shiny (and dangerously sharp) star tree toppers. This action crime dark comedy is all you need to break those 17 and older (because this one truly earns its R-rating) out of any mundane holiday funk that they may be stuck in.
Kudos to director Tommy Wirkola for bringing such a preposterous concept to life while exceeding all expectations. ‘Tis truly a Christmas miracle. Drawing inspiration from other revolutionary films such as Home Alone (1990) and Die Hard (1988), yes, it’s a damn Christmas movie, Violent Night goes whole hog into turning traditional seasonal theatrics into scintillating cinematic joy. Wirkola already has a track record for writing screenplays for some very imaginative works like Dead Snow (2009) and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013).
In this type of film, casting can go a long way in making the experience enjoyable, endurable or intolerable. Thankfully, Violent Night has its list in order when searching for a cast of talent that could mesh together in the proper way to assist in making an absurd story amazing. Starting with our lead actor, David Harbour, this particular role fits him like a finely tailored suit. I would say that Santa Claus has never been so imposing, except I happen to be one of the lucky few to have seen Fatman (2020) a couple of years ago, and I have to admit that Mel Gibson really pulls it off. That being said, Harbour’s version of Santa Claus is much more layered and compelling to learn all about.
This violent and somehow completely endearing yuletide yarn gets its hooks in you from the start and doesn’t let go until the very end. Having so many unique characters with something to offer assists greatly in the process because you’re always getting a little more than you bargained for. Alex Hassell, Alexis Louder, Edi Patterson, Cam Gigandet and Beverly D’Angelo (hey, since it’s Christmas, where’s Clark Griswold?) each do their parts in bringing functionality to the very dysfunctional family members they’re portraying. Leah Brady is the youngest actor in Violent Night, but she is the little lynchpin that holds everything together.
Violent Night is simply a fun movie that uses holiday tradition as a launching mechanism to create a lethal mix of laughs, love, foul language and lots of violence. This recipe might sound similar to what many of you are subjected to during this time of year (hopefully not so much of the violence aspect though), but at least this experience will be over in under two hours. Two hours that you’ll spend being thoroughly entertained, by the way.
As long as you’re not planning on bringing the kids out for a holiday movie, Violent Night is a good choice to get you into a festive spirit while foregoing most traditional paths. I’m telling you, if you just sit back and try to enjoy the sleigh ride, you’ll be ho, ho’ing and haha’ing the entire time. You can catch this one in select theaters early starting this evening and everywhere on December 2.
