Violent Night, 2022.
Directed by Tommy Wirkola.
Starring David Harbour, John Leguizamo., Alex Hassell, Alexis Louder, Beverly D’Angelo, and Leah Brady.
SYNOPSIS:
The gory holiday action-comedy Violent Night comes to Blu-ray with a digital code and a smattering of bonus features.
When I first heard about the premise for Violent Night, starring David Harbour of Stranger Things as Santa Claus, I assumed the main character was someone hired by a rich family to play the character for Christmas and then must summon his inner John McClane to take out the bad guys.
The film puts a twist on that idea that’s interesting but also at odds with the story’s central premise, which involves a gang of robbers led by a guy with the code name Scrooge (John Leguizamo) who take over a rich family’s mansion on Christmas Eve with the intent of emptying out a vault containing a few hundred million dollars.
The story is as bloody as you would expect, with a little girl (Trudy, played by Leah Brady) getting in touch with Santa via walkie talkie during the ordeal, serving as the Sergeant Al Powell to Harbour’s kick-ass Santa. But the tale also touches on the spirit and true meaning of Christmas, complete with XXXX’s ill feelings toward the holiday because of something that happened when he was a kid.
I would have preferred that the film chose a way to go and ran with it. I think it would have been better with a guy hired to play Santa as the hero, rather than the real Santa, complete with some magical tricks he can use to get out of trouble. The film feels a bit schizophrenic as a result of the clash of two very different tones.
In addition, there are a few sequences that stick out as very unrealistic, such as XXXX talking to Santa via walkie talkie when a few of the bad guys are maybe 30 or 40 feet away. They seriously couldn’t hear any of that? And when Santa takes out a bunch of the bad guys in a barn, he kills way more than the actual number we see when they’re first introduced. That sequence goes on so long that it becomes a bit comical.
I know, here I am, talking about realism in a film that has the real Kris Kringle as the main character. But, still, if you’re going to set up a realistic premise, at least have it make sense all the way through. I can buy the real Santa as a character in the story world, but everything should still make sense within those constraints. That said, though, Violent Night is overall a fun film that’s perfect for watching on Christmas when you can’t stand another saccharine holiday special. (And, yes, I appreciated the nod to Die Hard.)
Universal has issued the movie in a Blu-ray + DVD two-disc edition, with a code for a digital copy included too. There aren’t a ton of bonus features found here, but it’s still a good assortment of content. Here’s what you’ll find:
• Audio Commentary: Director Tommy Wirkola, producer Guy Danella, and writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller do a group chat that stays on track for the bulk of the film’s running time. Group commentaries can sometimes go sideways, but this one delivers tons of info about the film without veering off into too many irrelevant tangents.
• Quarrelin’ Kringle (3.75 minutes): I’ve become a fan of Harbour since seeing him in Stranger Things, and this is a nice look at his role in this movie, in particular the stunt work he did himself.
• Santa’s Helpers: The Making of Violent Night (6 minutes): This is one of those EPK-style featurettes that’s basically a Cliff’s Notes version of a documentary. It zips through a lot of the film’s elements in a very short amount of time. Too bad the studio didn’t make this one longer.
• Deck the Halls with Brawls (6 minutes): This is another featurette that actually examines one fight scene that was filmed in one shot, rather than many of the fight scenes, as the title implies. I’ll confess that I didn’t even realize it was one shot while I was watching the movie.
• Deleted and extended scenes (1080p, 19:02 total runtime): You’ll find 9 scenes here, including an intro done in the style of a 90s sitcom and an alternate ending.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Brad Cook
Originally published February 1, 2023. Updated April 22, 2024.
