Violent Night (2022)

Death by candy cane?!  A Santa who gives lumps and bruises while battling for the safety of a child who still believes in him?  Sign me up!  Violent Night is an unexpected treasure this holiday season offering just the right amount of good feelings to help you out when your Christmas Spirit tank goes empty.

Directed by Tommy Wirkola and full of as much comedy as it is crazy action, a bit of the ultra violence, and damn good beer, Violent Night is one hell of a yuletide offering for this Christmas season and - best of all - it is streaming so you don’t even have to leave your house and be annoyed by all the people on their damn phones!

"Violent and full of great moments of Christmas-themed comedy, Violent Night is an unexpected blast of blood and messy yuletide blessings"


The madness begins in a bar where Santa (David Harbour in yet another solid performance) drowns his tears.  He’s tired of being Santa.  Of course, the people at the bar believe he is only playing one at a mall or something, but NOHarbour plays the real SC and this Saint Nick is fed up with kids these days and their ever growing lists of wants.  When he decides that it is time to get back behind the sleigh and cruise drunkenly across the night skies, the laughter begins and it doesn’t let up until the very end of the exploits.

You see, according to writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller, Santa Claus is burnt out and rather tired of the chore of delivering gifts to kids who only want and want and want, offering nothing in return.  He is also a retired Viking warrior who settled down when he took up the hat, coat, and magic sack of toys.  It will take one little girl to reignite the passion for his seasonal job.  Well, one child and a whole lot of rather outrageous kills as he delivers gifts to her family’s compound and stumbles upon a hijacking situation in which he must take up arms and wipe these assholes off his naughty list for good.

Violent and full of great moments of Christmas-themed comedy, Violent Night is an unexpected blast of blood and messy yuletide blessings as Santa finds himself constantly explaining himself to a bunch of non-believing thieves with one family’s fortune on their minds.  It is beyond brutal - reimagining SC as once upon a time ago warrior with great skills at swinging his trusty weapon, Skullcrusher - but, having walked away from the violence when he became The Man in Red, can he still be as brutal as he once was?Violent Night (2022)

The answer is a resounding HELL YES as he comes face to face with the dysfunctional Lightstone family - Gertrude (Beverly D'Angelo), Alva (Edi Patterson), Bertrude (Alexander Elliot), her boyfriend (Cam Gigandet), Gertrude’s son Jason (Alex Hassell), his estranged wife Linda (Alexis Louder), and their daughter Trudy (Leah Brady) - and the hijackers who want their money, led by Scrooge (John Leguizamo).

Trudy is the reason for the season in this action comedy and - as she has just seen Home Alone - cranks up the violence in her own way with movie-inspired boobytraps while she and Santa find themselves the only ones who can stop the thieves from getting their hands on the $300 million.

So, yes, if Die Hard is a Christmas movie - which it is - then Violent Night will be right up your alley.  It is violent, outrageous, and so much fun that the sound of your own laughter will be the only thing drowning out the blast of the bullets ripping through the Christmas trees in this Christmas flick.

Ho! Ho! Ho! Pop the tab on an adult beverage and settle in for one hell of a violent romp thanks to the antics of this holiday hootenanny.  Violent Night is now in theaters and on streaming platforms.  Time to get naughty!

4/5 stars



Film Details

Violent Night (2022)

MPAA Rating: R for strong bloody violence, language throughout and some sexual references.
Runtime:
112 mins
Director
: Tommy Wirkola
Writer:
Pat Casey; Josh Miller
Cast:
David Harbour; John Leguizamo; Beverly D'Angelo
Genre
: Comedy | Horror
Tagline:
You Better Watch Out.
Memorable Movie Quote: "Santa's gonna eat through these guys like a plate of cookies!"
Theatrical Distributor:
Universal Pictures
Official Site: https://www.violentnightmovie.com/
Release Date: 
December 2, 2022
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:

Synopsis: When a group of mercenaries attack the estate of a wealthy family, Santa Claus must step in to save the day (and Christmas).

Art

Violent Night (2022)