Violent Night

Starring: David Harbour, John Leguizamo, Beverly D'Angelo, Alex Hassell, Alexis Louder, Edi Patterson, Cam Gigandet, Leah Brady, Andre Eriksen, Brendan Fletcher, Alexander Elliot, Mitra Suri
Directed by: Tommy Wirkola
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Comedy
2022

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: When a group of mercenaries invade a family's home to steal millions, the only one who can stop them is Santa Claus (David Harbour).

Review:

Tim: I'll give Violent Night credit, the story is certainly a unique one. I did not expect to see Santa Claus turned into an action hero in a gritty, R-rated action comedy. But, it's 2022 and here we are. That's really the best thing the film has going for it- it's such a high concept, original take on a "Christmas" film. The execution of that idea is somewhat lacking, however. Tommy Wirkola directs a decent movie, absolutely. Interesting, he did basically this same thing with Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. That movie took a children's story and turned it into a grittier action horror film. Both of these films are quite similar- great premise, only decent execution.

Those who get excited about this movie are mostly in it to see Santa killing bad guys. That's really the big draw and the movie doesn't disappoint in that area. It often leans into the comedy for this sequences. The film is surprisingly bloody and isn't for those with squeamish stomachs. It's not that you haven't seen all this before, but it definitely leverages its "R" rating to full effect. And yes, there's something twisted yet entertaining about Santa killing bad guys. However, the whole is pretty ridiculous, too. The movie tries to cover this up with the comedic aspects, but the script itself is incredibly flawed. The movie too often doesn't follow its own internal logic and asks the audience to believe things that are utterly absurd (yes, I recognize that's within the context of a deadly Santa Claus).

Some of these issues deal with the mechanics of the robbery and the family being held hostage. So many of these scenes just make no sense. Armed kidnappers would never act like they do in this film. I was rolling my eyes continuously at some of the things they let their captives do. It was just consistently poorly written. The backstory of Santa doesn't make much sense, either. It almost feels like they are making it up as they go along (yes, I know that's how you write a movie). But there was no clear vision or sense of momentum. We get to a certain point in the script and the writers decided we needed to know something about Santa's backstory to explain a hammer. But, learning that negates some of the things we'd been led to believe up to that point. Santa's actions don't make sense given the revelations about his backstory. It may seem like a quibble, but these small things represented lazy writing. Yes, the movie is absurd, but I don't think it's too much to ask for a story that follows its own logic. We didn't get that here.

David Harbour makes for a great Santa. I love his emergence in recent years. He's a charismatic, likable guy who has this endearing gruffness and goofiness to him. Those things are all on display in his portrayal of St. Nick. He can have an intimidating presence when he wants to, but he can also be gentle and kind. Harbour's range as an actor serves him well and greatly helps the film. John Leguizamo is a consistently effective actor. This role felt like one he's played numerous times before, but that experience allows him to hit all the right notes. He's menacing, but a bit ridiculous. His backstory explaining his hatred of Christmas felt a little much, but I appreciate trying to make him a more complicated villain. It was nice to see Beverly D'Angelo, but I'm not sure she did much that anyone else could have done, potentially better. Alex Hassell has a few nice moments. Alexis Louder was fine, although I never quite believed her performance. Leah Brady has several solid scenes, but her youth and inexperience comes out in many others. It's an uneven performance. Edi Patterson plays her role with all she's got, fully embracing this grating character. She really shines in her role. I've never been much of a Cam Gigandet guy. In every movie of his I've seen (this is the 6th), he really makes almost no impression on me. I guess he plays his role decently here, but he's just not very talented. He plays dumb well, but I wouldn't say he was impressive.

Violent Night is a decent film from start to finish. It has multiple enjoyable moments and mostly entertains, but it never gets past the "hey, look, Santa is killing bad guys!" surface. It's a funny concept and I'm glad I watched this film. However, with a better script, this movie could have been really good. It's memorable for the concept, not for the execution.

Rating 1-10

Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Hellboy (2019)