'Violent Night' Review: A Violent And Heartfelt Christmas Delight
David Harbour is the latest actor to put on the iconic red suit and hat, giving audiences not only one of the best iterations of the character, but one of the most entertaining christmas movies in quite some time.
Violent Night is the latest Christmas film vying for attention from audiences nationwide, taking the beloved holiday figure and placing him in possibly his most gruesome environment. The film not only stars David Harbour as Santa Claus, but boasts a solid supporting cast that includes John Leguizamo, Alex Hassell, Alexis Louder, Cam Gigandet, Edi Patterson, Beverly D’Angelo, and Leah Brady. With a film that feels like a lovely amalgamation of Home Alone, Die Hard, and John Wick, it’s important that everyone in the cast understands the assignment. Fortunately, this cast knew exactly what film they were making and leaned in heavily.
Casting Harbour as St. Nick was a heavily inspired casting choice. Not only does he look perfect in the suit, but he embodies Santa extremely well. This is a drunken, disheveled, and cynical iteration of the figure, but easily one of the most compelling. Harbour imbues the character with enough warmth where audiences will not only fully believe he’s Santa Claus, but cheer for him when the action begins to pick up. Harbour’s charisma and physicality are on full display throughout, elevating the action sequences and overall story with ease. Leguizamo is also strong as the film’s central antagonist aiming to rob a wealthy matriarch in her home on Christmas Eve. His scenes with Harbour are especially strong, the two playing off one another wonderfully, fully embracing the lunacy of the film they’re in.
When the film kicks into high gear and begins to deliver its Christmas-themed gore and mayhem, it’s a joy to behold. Director Tommy Wirkola, who previously helmed the cult hit Dead Snow, has a firm grasp on tone and balance throughout, never letting the film veer into overly serious or cheesy territory when it easily could in the wrong hands. He also does an impressive job helming the action scenes, which not only embrace the spirit of Christmas, but are well-staged, choreographed, and loads of fun. Simply put, It’s hard not to smile while watching Santa Claus use a candy cane to strike down henchman after henchman in blind fury.
The film is not only extremely violent, but has a warm, beating heart to balance out the blood and gore. This is a Christmas film that doesn’t forget to remind you of the magic of Santa Claus and how the holiday can truly bring loved ones together. Harbour’s scenes with Brady are the most heartfelt in the film. Their conversations via walkie talkie throughout the film are adorable and the two have fantastic chemistry. This is a Santa who has lost his joy of the job so watching this young girl remind him of why he took the position in the first place is very heartwarming. Some may find these scenes to be aggressively cheesy, but some of the best Christmas movies lean into this territory and there’s nothing wrong with that.
The only notable flaw of the film is that when the narrative shifts focus back onto the dysfunctional, wealthy family that has been held hostage, it’s not nearly as entertaining or compelling. The cast do their best with the material they’re given, but this is a film that only truly soars when Santa Claus is front and center. The hostage scenes feel far too long and drawn out and the film’s big twist can be seen from miles away. In addition, the supporting characters feel more like goofy caricatures than three-dimensional people.
Violent Night is by far and away one of the most pleasant surprises of the year. This is an incredibly entertaining and heartwarming Christmas film that will not only put audiences in the holiday spirit, but make them wonder why Santa Claus hasn’t veered into this kind of territory before. Harbour was born to play this role and hopefully he’ll be able to don the red suit and hat for a possible sequel. Santa Claus is coming to town so it’s best not to get on his bad side.