Noche sin paz

And there's nothing wrong with that.

When Violent Night is good, it's really good. It isn't always nearly as entertaining as it could be, but it definitely capitalises on its goofy premise in all the right ways at various points.

The violence is blunt and rudimentary, but there's something strikingly effective about it. Each hit is loud and visceral, and many of the actual deaths are a lot more creative than I was expecting them to be, even if the violence leads me up to each death is pretty by-the-numbers.

I was pleasantly surprised with the small but satisfying character arcs that the script weaves into the simple story. Santa is given a cynical outlook on humanity and himself to overcome, the family has tension to work out, and the mythology of Santa's backstory is actually given a twist to make his capacity for violence make sense in this movie.

There's nothing particularly groundbreaking about any of this, but it's all crafted with care and it's investing enough that I could easily see myself watching this in subsequent years.

Its aforementioned strengths help it largely overcome its weak supporting actors, dialogue that's sometimes so corny it's cringey, and its few too many scenes of characters sitting and talking.

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"Violent Night is one of the biggest surprises of the year, instantly becoming a contemporary Christmas classic! David Harbour expertly embodies a shockingly brutal, savage version of Santa Claus that somehow still delivers lovely messages.

Fighting sequences feature truly violent practical stunts, taking advantage of the R rating to provide unmeasurable amounts of gore. Creative use of Christmas songs will leave audiences crying with laughter.

A brilliant homage to the seasonal genre classics that should be seen in a packed theater!"

Rating: A-

As far as Christmas movies go, is this better than Die Hard? Of course not! However, it's no doubt a Christmas movie. David Harbor plays a Santa Claus who lost his Christmas spirit and gets it back by going total medieval on a gang of kidnappers looking to take a small fortune from the type of rich folks you hate the most over the Holiday season. Harbor's Santa reminds me a lot of his version of Hellboy, I think when it comes down to it both pictures are Metal as Hell, and it's like Mr. Stranger Things just doing vocals for both albums. Mr. John Leguizamo is in the flick as the naughtiest of naughty men (not as naughty as Hans Gruber, but who can be). Like a sick guitar riff Leguizamo brings his season experience as an actor to create an interesting and funny bad guy. Leaning towards the Home Alone factor, this movie is as violent as the title suggests, which is rare, really. The little kid in turns out to be worse than Kevin McCallister when it comes to projecting her home from criminal masterminds. It's like someone read the minds of every person that watches Die Hard on Christmas day and just wanted to give us something official. I appreciate that.

'Violent Night (2022)' is surprisingly earnest in its themes of Christmas magic and rekindling your Christmas spirit. What initially seems like a sardonic anti-Christmas movie soon reveals itself to be genuinely interested in spreading Yuletide cheer, although that's not to imply it doesn't also feature all the brutality, bad language and bodily fluids its concept promises. Merging 'Die Hard (1988)', 'Home Alone (1990', 'Bad Santa (2004)' and 'John Wick (2014)' (or, perhaps more accurately, some of its lesser imitators), the piece provides a stockingful of festive fun despite its undeniably derivative nature. David Harbour and John Leguizamo make up for the cast's general lack of charisma, as they're eminently watchable and sell even the silliest of dialogue. Though the piece is certainly self-aware, it's also really sincere and it establishes a strong sense of character for its central figure. In fact, Papa Noël actually has a relatively convincing character arc which prevents his inclusion from feeling as half-baked as it may initially seem. Although the flick sometimes comes closer to feeling like 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009)' than 'Die Hard (1988)' (particularly when it comes to most elements not directly associated with Santa), it features plenty of well-choreographed and exciting set-pieces that revel in all the gory mayhem you could want. The action never rises to the level of something like 'John Wick (2014)', but it's better than a lot of similar American stuff and it continues the welcome post-'Wick' trend of having clean camera work that favours wider compositions. The movie is really fun when it gets going. It has a few issues here and there, and it's arguably a little too sappy for its own good, but it's an entertaining actioner with a strong central performance and several accomplished set-pieces.

Simply put this movie is Die Hard mixed with The Santa Clause mixed with Home Alone (Macaulay Culkin would be proud). It's an enjoyable romp and should be included in any action movie fan's Christmas playlist. Sure there's some questionable content. I've noticed that directors love putting David Harbour in red, but he suited the role, and the teeny tiny bit of an origin story was, well, interesting. I'd love to see that made into an origin movie.

But, like I said, if you're an Christmas action movie person, who enjoyed Die Hard and consider it a Christmas movie, Violent Night is a good addition to your yearly play list.