Violent Night - Review

Christmas Dies Tonight. 3.5 / 5

Directed by Tommy Wirkola.

When a team of mercenaries breaks into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone inside hostage, the team isn’t prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus.

Some people's Christmas movie traditions are watching an elf travel from the North Pole to New York, a small boy being left home alone at the holidays, or a man being shown what life would have been like if he had never existed. But this year… it's Santa defeating bad guys with a sledgehammer called 'Skullcrusher.'

I have no idea how this was released by a major studio but I'm glad it did. Like an R-rated Home Alone, there's a lot of set-up to get through but you're only really there for the third act destruction. And it absolutely delivers.

This was a blast to watch with a group of friends, the candy cane scented carnage makes up for the painfully written characters and cliches and I was surprised at how great a Santa David Harbour is. Like John Wick smashed into a Hallmark holiday movie, Violent Night is a wild breath of fresh air compared to sickly sweet festive joy.

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