FILM REVIEW: “Violent Night” serves up some mindless, gory, holiday fun for grownups
If you grew up thinking that the cheeky PG violence of the traps set by Kevin McCallister in the Home Alone movies wasn’t gruesome enough, then boy, have I got a movie for you.
Imagine this: A cartoonishly dysfunctional wealthy family gathers at a secluded mansion for what they assume to be another toxic Christmas Eve dinner. Except this time, non-descript villains have decided to infiltrate the mansion and rob them. But wait! A dishevelled John Wick Santa Clause is here to save the day, by crushing skulls and crossing some motherfuckers off his naughty list. A Violent Night ensues.
This action-comedy completely hinges its success on the gruff-dad charm of David Harbour, and for the most part, it pays off. Certainly no Stranger (I will not apologise) to the Reluctant Protector archetype, Harbour seems to be having the time of his life here as the disillusioned, potty-mouthed Santa Clause, gleefully stumbling from one vicious fight scene to the next. Like its “I will find you and kill you” predecessors Taken, John Wick, and more recently, Nobody, watching the bad guys realise they have fatally underestimated our “I’m too old for this shit” hero is where you will derive the most fun out of Violent Night. The fight scenes are wonderfully grisly, bolstered by the engaging stunt choreography we’ve come to expect from 87North Productions, a production company founded by two seasoned stuntmen.
How Violent Night sets itself apart from the rest, though, is through its unflinching commitment to the “Christmas Movie” premise. From the holiday-appropriate production design, to the sickly-sweet jingle bells soundtrack, and the cheesy Christmas puns, Director Tommy Wirkola (Dead Snow) seems to have conjured a Frankenstein’s monster with a face of a family-friendly hallmark movie, but the mind of Sid, the creatively violent kid from Toy Story.
Writing duo Josh Miller and Pat Casey (Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2, lol) pads the screenplay with just enough serviceable humour for you to half-chuckle at until the next fight sequence. Perplexingly, the movie also attempts at some kind of character building, and it is this half-assed ambition that ultimately holds Violent Night back from being great, by giving the hostage family members too much unnecessary screen time, and disrupting the pace of the movie. Less talky, more punchy, please.
But look, at the end of the day, you get what you pay for, and what you get is a heaping of over-the-top violence sprinkled with corny jokes and a dash of Christmas spirit. Violent Nights is Die Hard-meets-John Wick-meets-Home Alone. What more can Santa give you?
