Violent Night (starring David Harbour) | Tommy Wirkola

[TheZatch]

Just got back from a promo screening and this movie was SO. MUCH. FUN.

Hilarious, brutal, and it could be a new holiday classic for grown-ups. David Harbour was pitch perfect in the role. Go see this with as many friends / family as possible. It definitely deserves to be a hit this holiday season.

4.5/5 for the inevitable poll.

[MazeRunner]

Originally Posted by HorrorBlu

Bros, also Universal, had a similar window. The early December release date seems designed to get this on PVOD just in time for Christmas.

Predicting the digital will be out the evening of Monday, December 19th.


My theatre is putting this on 2 of their biggest screens. Yet a movie like Bones & All gets put on a small screen and then down to 1 showtime for week 2 and probably gone after that.

[DetroitSportsFan]

Originally Posted by TheZatch

Just got back from a promo screening and this movie was SO. MUCH. FUN.

Hilarious, brutal, and it could be a new holiday classic for grown-ups. David Harbour was pitch perfect in the role. Go see this with as many friends / family as possible. It definitely deserves to be a hit this holiday season.

4.5/5 for the inevitable poll.

Any nudity/sex?

[TheZatch]

Originally Posted by DetroitSportsFan

Any nudity/sex?

No nudity or sex, but there is some coarse language of a sexual nature.

Originally Posted by MazeRunner

Predicting the digital will be out the evening of Monday, December 19th.

My theatre is putting this on 2 of their biggest screens. Yet a movie like Bones & All gets put on a small screen and then down to 1 showtime for week 2 and probably gone after that.

Because “Bones & All” is not putting butts in seats, plain and simple. Why should it remain in a larger auditorium if it’s playing to empty or close-to-empty showtimes every day?

[HomerThompson]

This has a hell of a lot more general appeal than Bones and All.

[El Rey]

Agree with Zatch, saw this at a promo screening last night - cute, fun, charming, gory, cheesy but it knows and plays into it. Some great, inspired kills and oh man the Home Alone scenes even had me wincing

[j_sazin]

Seeing this tonight in Dolby and I am more hype than usual.

[murphywmm]

I've been waiting for a good old adult-oriented Xmas movie since "Bad Santa". This looks like it just might fit the bill.

[y2jman]

i wasn't at 1st but i think when i get paid tomorrow go ahead see this, if i can only see 1 christmas movie at theater this month it be this one.

[Mosley likes BFDI]

I hope it's getting a 4K disc release.

[VictoryAtNight]

Violent Night finally has a score on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics are filled with a bit more holiday cheer than expected as the movie sits at 70% on the Tomatometer. That's just the critics score and audiences are probably going to be even more kind to the David Harbour Christmas movie. He plays Santa Claus, and the star is looking for a measure of revenge after he gets tangled up in some sort of kidnapping plot.

https://comicbook.com/movies/news/vi...vie-christmas/

[The Great Owl]

Five stars

After 1,100 years of delivering Christmas presents to the children on his “Nice” list, Santa Claus is burned out and disenchanted with his duties. Since all of today's youngsters seem to want either money or video games, this bearded and formerly-jolly figure, played by David Harbour, is now more interested in sampling alcoholic beverages from the homes that he visits than he is with reaching into his bottomless bag for presents to place under each tree.

On this Christmas Eve, however, one of nice kids, Trudy, has a special request. As she hides in the attic of her wealthy grandmother's mansion while her bickering family is held hostage by a gang of ruthless mercenaries who are intent on stealing millions of dollars from a basement safe, she reaches out to Santa in hopes that he will save the day. Jimmy Scrooge, a criminal mastermind played by John Leguizamo, and his fellow gunmen have been on the “Naughty” list for too long, and are overdue for a definitive reckoning, by way of sledgehammers, sharply-pointed candy canes, and bloody sho-ho-ho-ho-downs.

For those of us whose December wish lists have long included gory R-rated renditions of the booby trap scenes from Home Alone or the spectacle of a full-tilt warrior-mode Saint Nick stabbing an bewildered adversary with a tree ornament, the 2022 action comedy, Violent Night, is a Yuletide dream come true. Amidst the amazingly grotesque practical makeup effects, pyrotechnics, and constant outbursts of vulgar language, however, lies a surprisingly resonant meditation on the importance of family and on the need to maintain a spirit of giving in our present-day world of distractions and cynicism. An emotional mid-story walkie-talkie conversation between a wounded Santa and the intelligently resilient Trudy, played by Leah Brady, may evoke comparisons to a similarly heartwarming exchange between Bruce Willis's John McClane and Reginald VelJohnson's street cop in the Christmas season banger, Die Hard, but it shines with a brilliance all its own to keep us viewers grounded instead of simply cheering for the body count.

The casting of Beverly D'Angelo as the lewdly condescending matriarch is an obvious, but welcome homage to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Cam Gigandet delivers a humorous dose of meta self-awareness to the equation as a self-promoting B movie action star who has ingratiated himself into the family. Harbour (Black Widow) and Brady are the deserved centerpieces here, however, as they show us that holiday magic is real.

When I walked into the theater to see Violent Night, I was expecting nothing more than a serviceably entertaining one-shot affair. I am pleased to report, however, that I will be adding this movie to my holiday viewing list for years to come. Director Tommy Wirkola (Dead Snow, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters) certainly knows his way around gleefully irreverent mayhem, but he also knows when to unwrap this sordid gift box to reveal the genuine sweetness within.

[mikesncc1701]

Man I'm really looking forward to this! My Pops and I will be seeing this on my birthday next Wednesday at the Dolby and it looks to be perfect viewing for the holidays!

[j_sazin]

This rocked! Brutal, hilarious, easily the most fun I've had at a theater this year.

The

[Show spoiler]shed scene set to Bryan Adam's "Christmas Time" is easily my favorite fight scene set to music in recent memory

[brad4846]

Knew I’d enjoy this, but didn’t realize just how much. It’s so over-the-top (and oddly sweet), and I cannot wait to make this an every year watch

[Blu Myers]

That Home Alone section really hit the nail on the head. My theater audience completely lost it during that section.

[j_sazin]

Originally Posted by Blu Myers

That Home Alone section really hit the nail on the head. My theater audience completely lost it during that section.

Oh man, when

[Show spoiler]the guy on the ladder was holding a nail and the bowling ball fell and slammed the nail into his skull

, my theater erupted.

[MifuneFan]

This was a pretty entertaining, and over the top film. It definitely cops some of Die Hard's formula, and throws in some Home Alone highjinks, but it all worked pretty well without just feeling like a cheap ripoff of those films. I didn't really know anything about this movie going in, so I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of violence, and brutal kills in the film. Yet, for a movie with this much violence, and action, it still manages to carry a wholesome tone throughout, thanks to the little girl in the movie. David Harbour is the driving force here though, bringing that same blend of being a lovable big guy, but also a a bit curmudgeon that makes his character great in Stranger Things. Overall, despite some cheesy lines/dialogue, and not so great acting from some of the cast, this was a really fun film.

3.5/5

[russweiss1]

I'm glad to see a lot of positive posts for this. The movie does have it's dumb moments but man is it entertaining. This opened on one of the larger screens at the theater I go to which is a nice change. Devotion and The Menu were relegated to small screens when they opened last week. Definitely recommended.

[Mikezilla3k]

So poll for the film?