“Violent Night.” Whoever came up with this name for this Christmas(?) movie definitely was not lying.
Remember being a child striving to be on Santa’s nice list? Well, now the consequences for being on his naughty list are more than just a lump of coal. It is a complete and total physical annihilation, courtesy of the fat jolly man himself.
Right from the start, this movie rewrites every conception one has ever had of Santa Clause. The movie begins with Santa in a bar, visibly drunk, and questioning whether or not he should stop doing Christmas. Everybody’s inner kid dies a little inside at that moment, but as anyone could possibly assume, he’s going change his mind by the end of the film. After all, he’s Santa Claus.
We also experience a brief “It’s a Wonderful Life” moment when we flip to a stereotypical wealthy, dysfunctional and greedy family who is on the brink of complete implosion. After several predictable trials and tribulations, one man decides to rededicate himself to his family by becoming rich in family rather than wealth. It’s the tired Christmas movie plotline that appears in every Hallmark film — now in theaters! The plot is dense as water. But that’s not why people are interested in this movie — it’s a Rated R movie that literally has the word “violent” in the title? It’s all about the gore.
David Harbour is best known for his role as Hopper on the Netflix show Stranger Things. Harbour’s character is well-known for his fighting skills and aggressive nature. In “Violent Night,” he transform Santa Claus into comical badass! From calling out his reindeer for their unprofessionalism, to drinking alcohol in other peoples’ houses, to laughing giddily at the carnage he is creating, to helping to censor a child’s language by promising to kick the bad guys’ “anuses,” Harbour’s interpretation of Santa Claus is truly unique.
As for the gore itself, the film gets serious props for its creativity in how each villain is gruesomely killed. The very first person to meet their maker falls out a window and is skewered by a Christmas icicle decoration on which he lands. What this movie lacks in plot, it makes up for in its creative gore, building up to the confrontation between Santa — who has by now racked up a kill streak of at least 100 — and the ringleader of the baddies.
Unfortunately, the final scene turns out to be slightly, anticlimactic. Even fans of gore will likely be disappointed with the end of the movie.
Audiences like the cliché Christmas movie. That’s why the Hallmark Channel is so popular. The themes of generosity, giving and sacrifice are the ingredients to a classic Christmas movie! But a countertrend has arisen to the classic Christmas trope , as some claim movies like “Die Hard” and “Rambo” as their favorite Christmas movie.
If you fall in that category, the “Violent Night” might just be the Christmas movie for you.
