Violent Night was never going to be a movie that you could take seriously. Santa Claus turns into an action hero with where Die Hard 2 meets Home Alone, and throw in a dysfunctional, self centred, wealthy family in peril. I admit that it was a movie that I was convinced I would just fill in the time. I'm glad I saw it on Netflix and didn't spend money on a ticket to watch it at the cinema. I'd be rueing the cost of a ticket. Yes it filled the time, but I was fairly indifferent for most of the time until the last 20 minutes where I thought that this movie was a bit overlong with a fairly corny ending which left me saying, "Righto, it's a Christmas movie. Let it go."
I like David Harbour and I liked his portrayal of an alcoholic, cynical Santa Claus. He does his thing every Christmas Eve delivering his presents, eating the cookies, drinking the milk, and occasionally raiding the cabinets for alcohol. Sometimes he'll make himself at home for a quick rest break. His routine hits a hurdle when he finds himself stuck in the middle of a home invasion where a group of heavily armed mercenaries led by Mr Scrooge (John Leguizamo who is always enjoyable to watch on screen) take a wealthy family hostage led by the matriarch Gertrude Lightstone (Beverly D'Angelo) with the aim of robbing them of millions of dollars securely locked away in a high tech safe. The rest of the family members are either self centred, selfish, indifferent, weak willed or just want to be away from the family drama. The only likeable family member is the precocious and innocent Trudy (Leah Brady) who manages to escape and believes that Santa Claus can rescue her family. Santa holds his own as a brawler going up against a group of lethal mercenaries. The rest of the family try to stay alive in their dysfunctional way. And you can guess what happens for the rest of the movie. Fairly predictable, right? No need to answer, it was a rhetorical question.
One thing I liked is the references to Die Hard 2 and Home Alone, both movies which take place during Christmas time, the battling of bad guys through violent and occasionally slapstick methods, and occasionally moments of dark humour. The violence is gory and bloody. I won't spoil the movie and list the references, but I'm sure many movie aficionados and fans of either movie will pick the references.
If you enjoy "leave your brain at the door" movies, this fits into that category. Don't expect a masterpiece or a memorable movie. Violent Night was an average movie which satisfied my curiosity enough to the point that I felt indifferent and was one that filled in the time. As I stated at the start of the review, I'm glad I waited until the movie arrived on Netflix and didn't watch it on the cinema.
5/10.
I like David Harbour and I liked his portrayal of an alcoholic, cynical Santa Claus. He does his thing every Christmas Eve delivering his presents, eating the cookies, drinking the milk, and occasionally raiding the cabinets for alcohol. Sometimes he'll make himself at home for a quick rest break. His routine hits a hurdle when he finds himself stuck in the middle of a home invasion where a group of heavily armed mercenaries led by Mr Scrooge (John Leguizamo who is always enjoyable to watch on screen) take a wealthy family hostage led by the matriarch Gertrude Lightstone (Beverly D'Angelo) with the aim of robbing them of millions of dollars securely locked away in a high tech safe. The rest of the family members are either self centred, selfish, indifferent, weak willed or just want to be away from the family drama. The only likeable family member is the precocious and innocent Trudy (Leah Brady) who manages to escape and believes that Santa Claus can rescue her family. Santa holds his own as a brawler going up against a group of lethal mercenaries. The rest of the family try to stay alive in their dysfunctional way. And you can guess what happens for the rest of the movie. Fairly predictable, right? No need to answer, it was a rhetorical question.
One thing I liked is the references to Die Hard 2 and Home Alone, both movies which take place during Christmas time, the battling of bad guys through violent and occasionally slapstick methods, and occasionally moments of dark humour. The violence is gory and bloody. I won't spoil the movie and list the references, but I'm sure many movie aficionados and fans of either movie will pick the references.
If you enjoy "leave your brain at the door" movies, this fits into that category. Don't expect a masterpiece or a memorable movie. Violent Night was an average movie which satisfied my curiosity enough to the point that I felt indifferent and was one that filled in the time. As I stated at the start of the review, I'm glad I waited until the movie arrived on Netflix and didn't watch it on the cinema.
5/10.