Violent Night (2022) review – R-rated festive fun with a weirdly sentimental side

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today’s movie, Tommy Wirkola’s Violent Night, isn’t a horror movie at all. It’s far more of a comedy, action, and thriller than anything, but it has a ton of gore, some great kills, and enough to keep most horror fans entertained, at least for a while.

It’s not a horror but it’s still gory

Violent Night is a seriously gory affair with some decent tension and a strong thriller leaning. It follows the story of a wealthy family spending Christmas together, only to find themselves in a fight for survival after a ruthless gang of mercenaries breaks in to steal the family fortune. It comes down to a grizzled Santa to lead the fight back against the thugs before they murder all of the hostages.

Violent Night is something of a mix between an action thriller and a farcical Christmas comedy. Horrendously violent at times, while also managing to provide a few laughs, it’s one of those movies you throw on when you just want to eat some snacks, have a drink, and enjoy a Christmas film that isn’t overly sloppy and saccharine. Only, it kind of isn’t, because it actually is overly sloppy and saccharine. This is a film that is a tiny bit confused.

It’s very tonally confused

When Violent Night is wearing its action-thriller mask, it is a hell of a lot of fun. The kills are vicious, the action is intense, there are some hilarious nods to Home Alone in the most brutal way you can imagine, and the cat-and-mouse shenanigans are genuinely entertaining. The gore comes thick and fast, and Wirkola doesn’t pull any punches with the detail. This is Bad Santa meets Die Hard with a little sprinkling of John Wick, and it works really well.

“This is Bad Santa meets Die Hard with a little sprinkling of John Wick, and it works really well.”

Even the comedy elements land, with there being quite a few moments of laugh-out-loud hilarity. Violent Night, for much of its runtime, is one of those films you could imagine throwing on every year as a slightly more adult Christmas tradition. The problems start when Wirkola forgets that he is making a movie for adults.

Violent Night is saccharine and heartfelt in a way that seems completely out of place in something like this. Some of the scenes are ripped straight out of a kids’ Christmas film and it makes no sense. We go from people being ruthlessly murdered and extreme amounts of violence to examining the subject of kids believing in Santa Claus with not a single hint of irony or tongue-in-cheek.

I’m not sure who the family stuff is aimed at

I have no clue why this tonal shift was deemed to be necessary. There is no way in hell you could comfortably let your children watch this movie; it is far too bloody and not at all appropriate. So who the hell are the scenes featuring tried-and-tested kids’ Christmas movie tropes aimed at? The 0.0001% of adults that may still believe in Santa Claus? I have to imagine those types of adults won’t be watching movies featuring horrible violence.

It’s a bizarre, confused, and ill-fitting tonal shift that really upends the movie quite a bit. It gets in the way and takes up far too much time, time that could have been better spent on some more character development and a bit more action. There’s a lot of dead air in Violent Night and a lot of time spent with characters sitting on their hands waiting for things to get going. When all is said and done, it’s hard not to think the tropey kids’ stuff was a big waste.

Still tons of fun to be had

With all of that being said, this is still a fun movie and there is plenty to like. While it doesn’t bring anything at all new to the genre, there is enough action to keep things interesting. The action is quite satisfying, as well. There’s lots of creativity and some very nice visceral bite to the violence. Comedy is a strong point. The script leans into the corny a little too often, but there are a lot of laughs to be had.

“We go from people being ruthlessly murdered to examining the subject of kids believing in Santa Claus with not a single hint of irony.”

A few of the cast members are fantastic, as well. It’s so cool to see Beverly D’Angelo still acting; she is tons of fun here as the family’s matriarch, Gertrude. It’s awesome to have the Christmas Vacation vet onboard in a more recent Christmas film. John Leguizamo is typically solid and does a nice job as bad guy Scrooge.

David Harbour does his best Billy Bob Thornton impression as a drunken Santa Claus, but he does manage to bring a lot of warmth to the role. A special mention has to go to Leah Brady, as well, who does a nice job and seems to be having a lot of fun, even if she seems a bit too old to be so convinced that Santa is real.

Cinematography is decent; this feels like a high-budget film. The shot can get a little antsy in some of the faster-paced scenes but nothing too out of the ordinary. Pacing is a bit off. This is a long film and there is a lot of downtime. I would have preferred less sitting around and a quicker jump into the action.

Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight

Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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