Violent Night (2022) is a Christmas comedy movie directed by Tommy Wirkola. It deals with Santa Claus who gets involved in a home robbery and has to take out the bad guys. Below is my Violent Night (2022) movie review.
When the movie starts, we are introduced to a bunch of characters with a lot of them not being likable. Some are cliche millennials while others are typical rich people. There is also a little girl who is bubbly and believes in Santa. Her name is Leah Brady (playing Trudy) and she is an integral part of the story. Once Santa is introduced, she pushes him forward and motivates him to help her out and take on the bad guys in her house.
The bad guys are pretty comical and never feel like a big threat. Sure they wave their guns around but they are also acting comically and yelling like maniacs. This is especially true for John Leguizamo’s character who is constantly yelling and being obnoxious. He cranks it up to 10 in most scenes as he searches for Santa that is sneaking around in the house. This is where we are introduced to Santa and his existential crisis.
Santa (played by David Harbour) is introduced by modern Christmas and how people view it (asking for money and tech). As he contemplates his life and thinking about it being his last Santa run, he realizes that some bad guys are in the house and his friend Trudy is in trouble. She is obviously on his good list so he starts to dispatch bad guys one by one. We are also given flashbacks to his previous life and how he deals with violence.
Speaking with violence, there is a good amount of it. Most of it is brutal and bloody but some is hidden in a dark setting. This makes it hard to see. Some are also off screen which also sucks. However there is a good amount of it so it definitely goes up there with other holiday horror movies. This is where people have compared the “Die Hard” movie as well as “Home alone” with this movie. It definitely seems like a combination of both in terms of violence and traps set for the intruders.
The rest of the movie is all about chasing criminals and dispatching them. It is fun to watch and satisfies most people’s need for violence. The conclusion is very cliche but it wraps up the story in a way where a possible sequel is definitely doable. Whether it will happen is to be seen.
Overall this movie is fun and bloody. It has some decent characters (even if they are unlikable) and the story is solid. There is a good amount of violence so the movie feels more like horror comedy than anything else. It is a great addition to many other holiday horror movie out there.
Thanks for reading my Violent Night (2022) movie review
