Violent Night movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Violent Night

This dark horror/comedy is now available in theaters.

RATING: R Pay attention to the tips for parents below!

LENGTH: 1 hour 52 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: B+

IN A NUTSHELL:

This is NOT your typical Christmas movie. In fact, it’s not appropriate for kids at all. It’s a very dark, bloody, violent comedy about Santa Clause. Viewer beware!

If you can handle the gory violence and F-bombs, you’ll have a fun time. In between the gruesome fight scenes, there is magic and a sweetness about it.

A team of elite mercenaries breaks into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone inside hostage. But the team isn’t prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus is on the grounds, and he’s about to show why this Nick is no saint.

THINGS I LIKED:

Fans of Stranger Things will love seeing David Harbour play a butt-kicking Santa. John Leguizamo even says a line about a small town with a cop and 5 kids that is a playful nod to fans of the popular TV show.
I always get a kick out of the characters John Leguizamo plays in every movie. In this one, he plays a criminal who calls himself Scrooge.
I love it when movies reference other movies. A little girl reenacts two famous lines from the family-friendly movie Home Alone. There are also MANY references to Die Hard 2 (1990). People have debated for years whether or not that movie even counts as a Christmas movie (hint: it does).
Some of the fight sequences are pretty clever and entertaining.
Believe it or not, this movie was written by the same team that made the movie Sonic the Hedgehog in 2020.
The walkie-talkie gimmick was pretty cute.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Most of the characters aren’t very likable.
There were quite a few inconsistencies. For example, someone gets their fingers smashed at the beginning of the movie but is completely fine during the rest of the film.
Some of the acting isn’t very good. It makes the characters feel more like cartoon characters, rather than real people.
People make really dumb decisions.