Violent Night (2022) - David Harbour, Cam Gigandet, John Leguizamo, Beverly D'Angelo

[AlbertV]

David Harbour is playing Santa Claus in this upcoming action thriller that redefines St. Nick as an major butt-kicker who must save a family who are targeted by a band of mercenaries. The film is coming out on December 2. No trailer yet, but here's the poster. From the director of Dead Snow. 

Edited September 15, 2022 by AlbertV

[DarthKato]

Not going to lie, that sounds pretty damn awesome. 

[massa_yoda]

Well, I liked Mel’s Santa in Fatman and this sounds even more in line with Weird Al’s “The Night Santa Went Crazy” so I’ll give it a shot.  

[Drunken Monk]

This looks like loads of fun... 

 

[AlbertV]

This is the Christmas action movie I have been waiting for! Season's Beatings!

[NoKUNGFUforYU]

OK, I'm there. I got my unlimited Regal Cinema for $21.

 

[laagi]

For whatever reason this just didn't click with me. And overall that's rather disappointing as I've really liked the trailer and hence looked forward to it. Should be simple enough to pair some over the top violence courtesy of 87 North with a Christmas story.

And yes the violence and even occasionally gore is there. It's OK to watch maybe sometimes even fun but as I mentioned earlier for the life of me I couldn't get into it!

The best and funniest part was clearly when production just blatantly copied Home Alone with added blood and gore. It was quite frankly hilarious. Nothing beats some good old fashioned "Schadenfreude". Also Violent Night references Home Alone A LOT!

Everything else just feels so forced and at times right down out of place. Like the super cheesy (almost cringe) ending.

Last but not least the movie just feels too long because outside of the violence there's really nothing happening, nobody to root or fear for let alone any kind of story to hold the whole thing together.

Maybe this just wasn't for me. I'm sure the team behind it had a lot of fun. I'd skip this in cinema and give it a rental instead.

And if you really want to see a naughty saint nick rendition watch Bad Santa instead. It may not deliver on the violence but outruns Violent Night by at least a dozen reindeer noses. See what I did there... Man I'm proud of myself. Merry Christmas everyone!

[saltysam]

Thought this was decent but not great.just had something missing.

[DarthKato]

4 hours ago, laagi said:

For whatever reason this just didn't click with me. And overall that's rather disappointing as I've really liked the trailer and hence looked forward to it. Should be simple enough to pair some over the top violence courtesy of 87 North with a Christmas story.

And yes the violence and even occasionally gore is there. It's OK to watch maybe sometimes even fun but as I mentioned earlier for the life of me I couldn't get into it!

The best and funniest part was clearly when production just blatantly copied Home Alone with added blood and gore. It was quite frankly hilarious. Nothing beats some good old fashioned "Schadenfreude". Also Violent Night references Home Alone A LOT!

Everything else just feels so forced and at times right down out of place. Like the super cheesy (almost cringe) ending.

Last but not least the movie just feels too long because outside of the violence there's really nothing happening, nobody to root or fear for let alone any kind of story to hold the whole thing together.

Maybe this just wasn't for me. I'm sure the team behind it had a lot of fun. I'd skip this in cinema and give it a rental instead.

And if you really want to see a naughty saint nick rendition watch Bad Santa instead. It may not deliver on the violence but outruns Violent Night by at least a dozen reindeer noses. See what I did there... Man I'm proud of myself. Merry Christmas everyone!

What do you think it was that kept you from getting into it? Was it just bland characters, were bad guys not that threatening(Making the film dull), or was the story just poorly written(With crappy dialogue)?  

[laagi]

14 hours ago, DarthKato said:

What do you think it was that kept you from getting into it? Was it just bland characters, were bad guys not that threatening(Making the film dull), or was the story just poorly written(With crappy dialogue)?  

Pretty much everything of the above unfortunately. 

[DarthKato]

6 hours ago, laagi said:

Pretty much everything of the above unfortunately. 

Well that sucks. I was kind of looking forward to this one. Guess I'll wait for it to go to the bargain bin. 

[massa_yoda]

First off, I’m disappointed that they removed the line from the trailer, “it’s time for some seasons beatings” and replaced it with something that, IMO isn’t quite as sharp. Now that that’s off my chest, let’s talk about the film…

One reason I love the movie Fatman is that they set up a lot of characters that you actually care about, especially Mel’s masterful Santa. Even the military presence is generally kind. It’s a film with quality world building and, in spite of its over-the-top premise, takes its subject matter seriously. Boy, do we have a different movie here with Violent Night, which is both a good and bad thing. There’s a lot of humor here and it’s VERY hit and miss. Personally, I could have gone without seeing Santa throwing up on a person from his sleigh. There is some cool mythology for Santa that’s hinted at, but that’s all you get. I wanted to know more about his dark past. The characters here are all pretty unlikeable. It’s almost like they were trying to create a Knives Out family dynamic (rich, angry, greedy people) and throw that in a hostage scenario. The fights and violence are all pretty good, certainly much more than in Fatman. The “finishing move” is pretty insane. In the end, Violent Night is a movie that, with all the referential humor, knows exactly what it is. I didn’t think it was bad. But my go to for Christmas? I think that will stay with Die Hard and Fatman for now…

[Koravec]

Fatman is by far the superior movie. An actual enjoyable creative film unlike this crap. 

Who is this for? God awful bitchy soap opera or reality show drama dialogue for middle age wine moms, some of the messed up gore Ive ever seen, very cheesy childish little kid scenes. These audiences do not clash. If I had to guess the stranger things crowd, teenagers specifically. 

Such an irritating first half that you literally want to walk out of the theater. Few chuckle worthy jokes. Glad I saw it because I know I would of had to eventually, couldnt let a santa action movie go unseen. 

Got more enjoyment from youtube video reviews for the santa claus nauty or nice line action figures than this entire movie (seriously theres even a war chief santa figure).

And speaking of that I did like the viking background of santa in the movie and his love for his brutal hammer.  Overall the movie misses. Id toss a copy on my shelf just because Im into this sort of thing, just a lot of crap to deal with for a few just decent moments.

Edited January 12, 2023 by Koravec

[Super Ninja]

Looks like Violent Night is in some desperate need of lovin' here. Luckily, not only do I prefer it over Fatman unlike you guys, I also believe it's about to become my go-to Xmas movie from this year on.

How that happened I'm not sure. The mood was just right, possibly thanks to the fact this was a holiday morning matinee for me, following a bowl of choco balls with warm milk, and somehow Violent Night hit all the right notes with me. 

While we could argue 87North's output being truly satisfactory considering certain company members' previously associated efforts, Violent Night had the right ingredients and proved to be a dish I ended up having little to none to complain about. There's blood and violence, there's action and humor, there are a few imaginative kills (how about that villain finisher?) and importantly, there's a sprinkle of that long lost Christmas magic, something I was missing in these modern Santa slaying/Kill Santa Xmas movie offerings. Funny and moving (for me), brutal yet magical, Violent Night had me enjoying Trudy's childish innocence as much as David Harbour's inspired performance, ho-ho-ho's and bloody executions alike.

On top of all the shooting and sledgehammer action, there's a welcome dose of MA action coupled with a few solid stunts, courtesy of Phong Giang, Can Aydin and Lee Cha-Yoon (of Reel Deal Action) in smaller roles and handling the choreo. I loved seeing them here and I love how their characters died.

All of the above mentioned combined made Violent Night such a pleasant experience for me. Any Christmas movie that can make me feel like a kid again is good in my book and can have my vote, so I'll be the first here to say I recommend this.

[AlbertV]

The film is on Peacock now and I watched it on my birthday (this past Saturday). I really enjoyed it for what it was and I actually liked Santa's backstory flashback. I thought it was cool to have that incorporated to see why Santa was a total badass. But props has to go to Beverly D'Angelo as the matriarch of the family. She had some of the best one-liners in the film. My favorite: "Don't put shit in my mouth and say I'm eating chocolate cake". 

It was officially confirmed a sequel is in the works. Tommy Wirkola is returning to direct along with screenwriters Pat Casey and Josh Miller. An idea possibly brought up is to take the action to the North Pole.

https://www.thewrap.com/violent-night-sequel-update-tommy-wirkola/