John Wick dressed in a Santa suit! Violent Night is an action thriller dark comedy. It lives up to it's name with lots of brutal violence, creative kills and lots of blood. The action sequences are well-made, inventive and over the top. The goofy dumb humor might not be funny for some but I thought it was hilarious.
The setup and introduction to all the characters was really well-done and it felt flawless. David Harbour is perfectly entertaining in the role of a killer Santa and Leah Brady as Trudy brings some heartfelt moments to an otherwise violent and bleak story - It was the perfect balance. The villains were mainly one-dimensional but very entertaining nonetheless. Their deaths were all well-thought and hilarious. I would of prefered less family stuff and a lot more of Santa's backstory... although it's fine if they're keeping that for a sequel.
My favorite part was the Home Alone for adults scene it's what elevated the movie to great for me. The movie did reference a lot of movies which i'm not too sure if it's a positive or not. I do think it should of been more of it's own.
Definitely one of the better experiences at the theater this year people were laughing a lot. Without a doubt a new Christmas classic I can see myself watching this yearly along with Krampus, they would make a great double feature together. If you're in the mood for an action packed silly holiday fun this is a real candy cane treat!
"Violent night. Gory night. All is calm. If all doesn't want to get shot in the fucking head."
Dumb, violent, and lots of fun. It's a mixture of Die Hard 1 & 2, Home Alone, and a little bit of Bad Santa. So, with all of those examples in mind, you have some idea of what type of movie you're getting.
The movie was a great Christmas watch.
"I'll take this coal and ram it up their.. anus!"
On one level, it knows what it is, being an alternative vulgar holiday gore-fest, and I appreciate it deludes itself with satire and self-referentials. But the plot it tries balls deep to squeeze between the action is just a concrete slog after the 60-minute mark, and neither do the various subplots get much spotlight beyond thin plot reasoning.
Literally, the only reason I caught this in the theater was for David Harbour's combat skills, and I'm glad I witnessed them with a crowd of "oh shit!!" reactions.
I also really enjoyed the nordic angle of Santa's origins, and I really wished it was delved into more as it could've had a huge stake in the route of the story instead of just being a generic action movie tribute.
Easy watching with a few chuckles throughout. I saw someone say that it "feels like a two-hour Family Guy cutaway gag" and I honestly couldn't put it any better than that. There are a few nice action pieces, but after an hour I just found myself wishing it would end.
The movie is also kinda strange in that the graphic violence and language scream that this is not for children (as does the rating), yet the movie is very simple, overly predictable, and has a very childish tone and delivery overall. Even the majority of the jokes are very childish... but children are far from the intended audience here. The villains are probably the best example of the childish tone here.
Worth watching if you've nothing else to do, but I doubt I'll ever watch it again.
The premise and the first part of the movie was interesting and promising. Even though it was too long, which made the movie itself longer than it should be.
The middle part was kinda okay.
But the third part of the movie ruined it all, at least for me. It's full of banality, cliche and weird feelings. This movie is obviously not for the kids because of all the violence and blood, but at the same time the third part of it looks so plain stupid like it's made for the kids, Home Alone style.
Also, the whole family are just horrible human beings, plain disgusting rich worms. And yet, nothing interesting comes out of that.
And the weirdest feeling I got is from that little black girl, whatever her name was. She pulls Home Alone stuff, so comparing to the original begs. Kevin was first frightened of the thieves, then mans up, decides to protect his home and does half a day preparing. But not the girl. She's 7 or something, but already strong, independent and super smart. Lots of bad guys took her home, killed lots of people - and she's not even scared at all. She makes Home Alone style traps in 5 seconds, mangles and kills people and not even bothered with this. When Santa comes in, she says "it was so much fun!". And bad guys couldn't even find her, like she's very far and unreachable, even though she just ran up the attic and left the ladder down.
If you wannna see cool old rough Santa and some blood better watch Fatman with Mel Gibson.
Did not expect much really, saw none of the trailers. And it was surprisingly well made. Honestly it's really good, instant classic.
I can't believe people actually find any value in watching garbage like this.
"Die Hard" and "Home Alone" in a new special Christmas edition, this time McClane and Kevin have a day off, someone else will save Christmas. ;>
"Violent Night" is more fun that the critics would let you believe. There are many plot-holes (and not just the one with the "christmas-magic") and a few cringly-scenes, but overall the acting is pretty solid and the action and gore are great. This could become your new yearly christmas-flick. Just send the kids to bed before.
3 Thoughts After Watching ‘Violent Night’:
Lazy writing abounds in this film. From the cringy “Santa Claus is coming to town” and “Christmas dies tonight” lines… to the naming of Skullcrusher… to the completely unnecessary burning of the money to keep Santa warm… it’s all just a bit too silly. But I ask myself if I should expect anything else considering the plot.
My first thought when seeing John Leguizamo was that he was an odd choice to cast as a villain. Not entirely sure why. Maybe he’s just too likable.
I didn’t hate it. The highlights were David Harbour, the “Home Alone” scene, and Santa’s final kill. It was all an interesting concept that only occasionally fell flat.
Violent Night is a thrilling and unique take on the holiday action genre. Released on December 2, 2022 and directed by Tommy Wirkola, the film follows a team of mercenaries as they break into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve and take everyone inside hostage. However, they are not prepared for the surprise combatant that emerges - Santa Claus, played by the always-entertaining David Harbour. Harbour brings a perfect balance of charm and ferocity to the role, delivering some truly memorable action sequences that will have audiences on the edge of their seats.
In addition to Harbour's standout performance, the film also features a talented supporting cast, including Leah Brady as Trudy, a character who brings heart and depth to an otherwise dark and bleak story. The villains, while somewhat one-dimensional, are entertaining and their deaths are both well-thought-out and hilarious.
One of the highlights of the film is the "Home Alone for adults" scene, which truly elevates the film to great. The movie does reference a lot of other films, which some may see as a positive or a negative, but ultimately it stands well on its own. The action sequences are well-crafted and over the top, with creative kills and plenty of blood. The humor is hit-or-miss, but those who enjoy goofy, dumb humor will likely find it entertaining.
But beyond the surface-level entertainment value, there are also deeper themes at play in Violent Night. The film explores the idea of redemption and the power of second chances, as Santa Claus embarks on a mission to save the hostages and redeem himself for his past mistakes. The film also touches on the theme of the true meaning of Christmas, as Santa tries to impart the importance of love and family to the mercenary team and the hostages.
Overall, Violent Night is a highly entertaining and thought-provoking film that combines elements of holiday cheer with brutal violence and clever humor. It may not win a bunch of awards, but it's sure to become a holiday classic for action movie fans, and it's a perfect pairing with Krampus for a double feature. If you're in the mood for a silly, holiday-themed action film with some deeper themes, Violent Night is a real treat.
This comedy / action film has everything you’d want in a Christmas film. Great story, Santa and violence. In my opinion this should be considered a true Christmas classic alongside Die Hard in years to come. Thought David Harbour played the role very well with his back story, sensitivity and just all round grit, strength and humour.
If you like action, this movie is for you. Towards the end I found myself getting a bit bored by all the fighting scenes. Lots of cliche lines. Fun and worth a watch but nothing that special
Violent Night succeeds where Fatman didn't. [https://trakt.tv/comments/352444]
Santa is basically the same character here. The specifics are different but we have a gruff Santa, slightly disillusioned. Here the pacing is much better. The backgkround narrative is better. Unfortunately the characters are worse. As unfortunately bad as Fatman was, I was mostly disappointed because of how much I liked the characters. The angry child was deliciously perfect and Walter Groggins brought the perfect amount of menace and obsession. Mel Gibson was just frustrated. Which is what you want from Santa in this type of movie. David Harbour also manages to get that kind of frustration perfect. He's just so annoyed. He's great.
The problem is aside from little Trudy, who is just the right amount of adorable without being overly precocious, there's not much else there for which to care. The family are rich a-holes but they aren't fun rich a-holes like say the family in Knives Out. I don't really care about them. They're drama is honestly too boring and uninteresting. Joe Hardy as Bertrude the kid who like every rich kid online thinks they can be a star just based on that alone.
It's a violent movie which is mostly done well. That said once again I urge anyone in the movie-making business to stop making these where we see people throw up on other people. It's something I expect out of modern gross out B-Movies. This however isn't that. I kinda hope we're eventually past showing this gratuitous scene over and over again. It's enough to KNOW they threw up for the love of all that's holy. We don't need to see it, especially in what is otherwise just a regular film. It's almost always wasteful screentime. There's also a scene where Santa has to stitch himself up that I thought, just maybe was going to be the one movie that didn't show a close up of him sewing himself but nah. Couldn't resist I guess.
Still overall it's a movie that knows that it is and goes for the point earnestly. The acting is serviceable and even though the characters are weaker everything else isn't. I like watching Santa have a character arc where even though he's bitter and tired he still cares and that moment of caring inspires him to snowball down a hill of violence and blood that, with Harbour at the wheel, is endearing.
A great new holiday movie tradition like home alone and die hard
Enjoyable mix of die hard 1&2 with Santa playing McClain, a good home alone scene (which itself felt like that was the actual movie plan, but they added more Santa, because the daughter's voice is so grating), a few laughs, but It doesn't deserve to lick Jesus Christ Powell's boots. This won't become an annual Xmas night viewing.
Throughput I couldn't help wondering if I should have just waited for the highly likely Director's cut.
Really surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. It’s a cool concept and usually once a movie settles on a cool concept they just rest on that and ride it to the end, they probably could have done that here but they nail the blend of humor, action and the magic of Christmas with a nice touch of fun gore. Could end up being a yearly watch
That was a damn fun movie
John Wick meets Die Hard Meets Santa Claus with a bit of Home Alone thrown in too. This movie is goryyy. Like I want David Harbour's santa for MK12 make it happen ed boon lol. I thought this movie was very creative and one I'll probably be watching again next year to spice up my Christmas movie watching.
A cheesy holiday action movie I'm probably going to continue watching every year. The one-liners are jolly and fun, and David Harbour is a badass Santa Claus. I didn't expect the kills to be gruesome, but they were worth it.
I'm starting to like these new takes on Christmas with a violent yet wholesome story. Fatman is another that comes to mind but Violent Night is a tad more action packed
Decent enough, story a bit lacking in depth and memorable characters but still really funny and a fun watch
Manages to be as heart warming as it is violent.
This movie was b@tsh!t crazy, and I think I love it
Film 48 (Goal: 300) of 2024
Violent Night is a unique take on the Christmas films, combining elements of Home Alone and Die Hard. The unique take on Santa has been common in films lately with Fatman and now this coming to mind. Violent Night starts off really well, setting up David Harbour's entertaining, drunk Santa. But the film grinds to a halt in the 2nd and 3rd act. It's still enjoyable all the way through, and one of the better modern Christmas films. But it's not something I'm going to rush back to watching again.
Also, does Edi Patterson play the same character in everything?
It's like Home Alone if Marv and Harry got realistic injuries.
“bah, humbug, mother ******.”
definitely more gory than i expected, but i also enjoyed it way more than i thought i was going to going in. i can see this being a once a year watch during the holidays.
If I hadn't watched it in the middle of the night, I would have 100% yelled at some crazy awesome disgusting bloody scenes hahahahha
It was very fun, funny, saddy, happy.. I really liked that they gave Santa a human story. And a Viking life, as a butcher with his hammer heck yeah !
This movie is worth watching several times just for the heck of it.
Congrats cast and crew :heart:
It is entertaining, bloody and the plot is not very complicated, I thought the action scenes were good and to pass the time it's fine.
I wish there was some more Santa backstory because that was honestly very interesting. It did feel a bit cliche, especially in the end, and it is disappointing as this is an R-rated Christmas movie. It geniunenly couldve been amazing with a better story built around it, but maybe it would be hard to take seriously as it is still a movie about Santa. Actually, I have seen weirder stuff before.
At Time of Review:
High 6/10
Story and Characters: 6/10
Presentation: 7/10
Enjoyability: 7/10
Still fun, still cute dynamic between Santa and Trudy, Leguizammo’s still having fun, still sins creative action but lags a little and some of the action isn’t as good as other. It’s a decent little Christmas diversion
Love seeing Santa violently murder people. How do these people not have PTSD from this night.
well fwiw the contrast of family-friendly simplicity in plot and gags and the insane amount of gore worked for me. it specifically worked because of the cast, especially david harbour.
Violent Night is a wild ride that reimagines Santa Claus for the modern age. It's a bloody, action-packed comedy with a surprisingly sweet core, anchored by David Harbour's charismatic performance. The film's originality, humor, and emotional undercurrent make it a unique and entertaining experience. If you're looking for a darkly comedic action film with a holiday twist, Violent Night is definitely worth checking out, just be prepared for a Santa Claus like you've never seen before.
I loved it. It had some moments that made me laugh out loud at the silliness of it all, but I don't think that's a bad thing. Definitely worth a watch if you're into comedy horrors.
What an awesome Christmas Movie! We watched it for Christmas 2022 and for sure watch it for Christmas 2023!
it's violent yes but as the scene homaging Home Alone symbolises, it's no less violent than that Macauly Culkin 'family' movie.
A fun action Xmas movie. Pretty gory so not suitable for kids who still believe in Santa.
What a unique adult, violent, black comedy twist on why the magic of Santa Claus is such a pivotal role in a child’s imagination. This follows a massive break in operation at a rich estate on X-mad eve who all they want to do is create hurt and guess who comes to the rescue with the help of a little believer. But instead of this being PG, Santa is quite violent in cleaning up the bad guys. Picture the movie “The interview”, unexpectedly bloody at the end.
I had a good time watching this. Good action, fast pacing. Might add this one into the Christmas rotation.
Violent Night delivers on its promise of intense entertainment. The cast gives strong performances, particularly in the film's high-stakes action scenes, and the cinematography is impressive. While the film's storyline is somewhat predictable, it's still engaging and keeps you invested from start to finish.
If you are here for comedy/action combination, then this movie will be alright. But if you came here, hoping it would be like John Wick or Nobody, then reconsider watching this movie.
This movie was alright in itself, but I expected something more from producers of Nobody.
After the movie got going and Santa started fighting, I thought, "So he has to kill everybody and the movie's over?"
I don't know why I imagined a movie with something else going on.
There was a whole team of security staff, but all they did was get quickly killed and disappear.
Why there were so many criminals, including some type of military group with machine guns was not clear. If all they wanted to do was rob the family safe why bring a hundred soilders? It's not Fort Knox! How much money is there to split in that lady's safe? Is she keeping 20 million dollars at home?
David Harbour as a badass Santa Claus? Sign me up. This was a fun ride in a John Wick type Home Alone crossover kind of way! I recently found out that there is already a sequel in the works, which means it is time to get excited!
Rating: 3.5/5 - 8/10 - Would Recommend
Violent Night is a wickedly fun action-comedy. While delivering presents Santa Claus gets left behind by his reindeer at a mansion that’s being robbed by a ruthless group of thieves that’ve taken the family hostage, and it falls to Santa to take out the thieves in order to save them. Starring David Harbour, John Leguizamo, and Beverly D’Angelo, the film has a pretty good cast, and newcomer Leah Brady is quite impressive for a child actress and has tremendous screen presence. Additionally, the script is well-written; creating interesting characters and building tension and suspense as the situation becomes more dire. Also, the fight scenes are gritty and exciting. However, the film’s kind of vague on the Santa Claus mythology and uses “Christmas Magic” as a catchall to explain away Santa’s powers. And the comedy can be a little crude at times. It has a few problems, but overall Violent Night is a wildly entertaining holiday film.
this movie was fun . action and comedy what more could you want. it's up there with Chistmas story. this will be replaying during Christmas like Chistmas Story. David Harbo
Loved this movie wen and saw it with my dad
Hardly going to become a Xmas classic...
It felt like Snakes On A Plane - a film created backwards from the title.
If you crossed Knives Out with Bad Santa and Nobody, you're in the ballpark. And it isn't as good as any of those three films by any stretch.
2.5/5
6/10
so Santa originally is a Viking, huh? interesting.
Twisted one dark comedy. I really like this new genre of splash and gory comedy. The home alone sequence with the traps was awesome with all the blood. Very entertaining Christmas different movie.
The son (Jason) was really awful actor.
I want a sequel with Ali Larter or Mila Jovovich as Mrs. Claus.
Brutal!, this is absolute brillant
Violent Night is everything I hoped it would be, and more. It's not perfect, but it's very close, and it will be a new must watch for me every Christmas Eve.
The movie starts with our disaffected Santa (played perfectly by Harbour). Here I definitely got a Bad Santa vibe. I had watched some reviews before deciding to see this in theater and there were repeated complaints that the movie was too long... I couldn't disagree more! If anything, it was too short! I wanted more time with the key players in the film. To start, I wanted more time with Santa; yeah, I get it, people are greedy and terrible, but I didn't feel the full weight of Santa's antipathy.
After this, we meet the Lightstone family: we begin with separated parents, Alex, and Linda, picking up their daughter, Trudy - who is the star of the movie. Really, whoever cast her did a great job. She, along with Harbour are the heart that make this movie more than just Die Hard with Santa. Next we meet the rest of the Lightstones, who are deliciously awful. This is the second problem: I wanted more time with them too! Also, casting Beverly D'Angelo (best known for National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation) as Gertrude was perfect.
Finally, we have our villains. Each of whom have so much personally that I wanted to know more about all of them.
So, hats off to the writer, and the actors for creating characters I was invested in so much that I wanted to spend even more time learning about who they were.
So, obviously the movie has been compared to Die Hard, and Home Alone - even though that is just a small sequence - I think the better similarity would be Fatman. A Santa Claus who can kick ass? Yeah, I saw that movie already.
Onto the movie itself. Violent Night is an action movie with comedy here and there, but what I was not expecting is how emotionally gripping it was going to be, and without that, I just would not care as much. Sure, Santa McClane taking out some bad guys sounds fun as an action comedy, but the bond that builds between Trudy, and Santa is what make this worth watching.
A fun watch but not rewatchable, I've added an extra point for the sheer audacity of the concept, if not its execution. The script is lighthearted and fun, never taking itself too seriously- except when it does. These moments, which focus on Santa's backstory and the mystery of "Christmas Magic," are far too fleeting. Perhaps a full origin story that ran alongside the main plot as flashbacks would've anchored the film better. It definitely would have eaten up minutes that were spent on absurd action set pieces that tried to shock, but were far too fantastical for me to suspend my disbelief. (I'm pretty sure that the barn fight scene involved twice the bad guys that had been shown in the previous scene. They literally came out of nowhere.) And it absolutely would have been more interesting. The movie's main draw - the violence - was funny, and the performances were mostly good; David Harbor is awesome, and John Leguizamo does a great job keeping his villain straight & scary. On the other hand, the homages sprinkled throughout did more to remind me of the better movies that inspired it instead of bring me in on the joke. Overall, I admire the swing, but it just misses.
Okay. This is the best holiday movie of all time. Everyone add this movie to your collection. A MUST WATCH!
A fun enough time that still overstays it's welcome a bit. There's some good action sequences that are then followed by rote ones that expect an icicle stabbing to get the same pop after more creativity. Leguizamo's having a blast. The finish of the last big fight could be straight from a Mortal Kombat fatality and I'm not sure if that's praise or critique. What really sticks is David Harbour and his dynamic with Leah Brady, putting enough heart and emotion into his performance to actually tug at my heartstrings. While this may not be a new Christmas standard for me, it still makes for a good night.
:heart:x6
This is a Christmas movie? It is however a very heartwarming, funny, yet violent movie.
Not everyone is going to like this, but it is better than average. Harbour does/says some really funny stuff.
How I rate:
1-3 :heart: = seriously! don't waste your time
4-6 :heart: = you may or may not enjoy this
7-8 :heart: = I expect you will like this too
9-10 :heart: = movies and TV shows I really love!
its very nice i love it
After a slog of an opening hour, Violent Night manages to scrape together a competent amalgamation of John Wick, Home Alone, Bad Santa and Vikings to make a decent, hyper violent action romp with a Christmas twist. None of the jokes really landed for me and nothing is really expanded upon outside of the elevator pitch. What is here though is a decent ride when it finally gets going, but nothing really to write home about. Not a movie that will be joining my yearly rewatch cycle, but I don't regret watching it either.
I guess Die Hard really is a Christmas movie after all.
It feels like it was conceived by a bunch of executives over a weekend. This is way too watered down for me, even by studio comedy standards. I hate how every arc and broader concept the film’s dealing with is spelled out during the opening scene, making the film even more predictable than it already is. The acting and dialogue suck, every ’character’ is really just a type, the comedy is painfully unfunny and obvious (sometimes downright cringy), little to no effort was put into the filmmaking (another one of those studio comedies that looks even cheaper than most tv shows), way too much emotional handholding through the score and music selection; it’s garbage and way too long. The second half gets marginally better, particularly once the sledgehammer gets introduced, but I can’t think of a single reason to watch this instead of the films it’s ripping off.
3/10
It’s a Christmas miracle! A recent Christmas movie that doesn’t suck.
A couple of giggles and nothing much..
Santa's exemplary American commercial movie. All already seen in plenty of other films.
Tone is really mangled, could do without so much cringy pg family stuff, but the r rated gorefest we were promised delivered. The sound design during the fight scenes was spectacular. Harbour is phenomenal here. It's a B movie that I loved the good parts so much that the awful parts didn't drop it too much. 6.8.
You better watch out
You better not cry
You better not pout
I'm telling you why,
Santa Claus is killing badguys tonight
More heartwarming than 90% of Christmas movies, which is designated when a movie with so many, quite fun, kills achieves that. Also, the "Home Alone" reference is 1000 times better than the remake.
Unremarkable, boring, at least 30 mins too long, and completely devoid of any effort. Save your time and watch die hard instead.
If Home Alone, Die Hard, and Bad Santa had a baby, you would get Violent Night.
No Easter Bunny at the end credits, otherwise really enjoyed this one. Santa fucking shit up! That's all you need this holiday season.
Die-Hard Meets Home Alone, the trailer looked all kinds of crazy and David Harbour really delivered as his role as Santa Clause, I was also surprised to see Beverley D'Angelo from National Lampoon in this.
This Christmas film is as the title suggest violent as all hell, Santa Clause vs a house full of Mercenary's utilising whatever he can to survive and save the little girl on the nice list (lucky for her she is so sweet otherwise I dont think he would have stuck around) and let's just say you definitely do not want to be on Santa's Naughty list, some of these scenes may even make you wince, they don't hold back once they get going. (Looking at you bad guy making his way to catch the girl in the attic, or woman also trying to catch the girl in the attic but her head getting stuck to the floor ow)
Despite all of this, the film manages to keep the Christmas spirit just be sure the kids are in bed before you watch it.
Its different, so if you need a break from all the normal Christmas movies and need something else to play alongside Die-hard look no further, I enjoyed it for what it is David Harbour Santa kicking butt and ticking the bad guys off his naughty list, ho ho ho.
"Violent Night" delivers exactly what the trailers promised. It's a bloody action comedy in which David Harbour plays a grim Santa who must deal with a slew of bad guys (à la Die Hard). Harbour knows exactly what kind of movie he is in. That was already the case in Hellboy, but the movie around him was crap. This time, it works much better. There are numerous Christmas puns, and the bad guys, who literally are on the Naughty List, really get their asses kicked by Santa. None of this may be particularly profound, but it's a ton of fun. All of this adds up to make "Violent Night" a truly delightful treat. If you don't like it, you might be a bit of a Grinch.
Like if Die Hard was a Christmas movie. :wink:
Well-done straightforward entertainment that celebrates our desensitization to everything and still tugs at the heartstrings a time or two also. Now they’ll take this perfectly fun solo movie and force it into a franchise we’ll one day all say isn’t like it used to be.
Shout by RayTaylorhomeBlockedParent2022-12-03T01:41:51Z
It was a fun movie. Let's combine Home Alone, Die Hard and some random feel good Christmas movie. It just works.
Is this going to win a bunch of rewards? No. Will it be watched around Christmas by action movie watchers for years to come? Most definitely
If you like crazy action, death and Christmas? Just watch it.
I'd watch it again just for the Home Alone scene. You'll know when you see it