A one-joke premise usually spells disaster, but Tommy Wirkola’s movie remembers that the key to a good Christmas movie is caring about people.
While it is filled with references to late 80s-early 90s Christmas movies, and features plenty of ironic repurposing of Christmas iconography (including the casting of the Vacation series’ Beverly D’Angelo), Violent Night refuses to wink at the audience and sticking to being an earnest story about a depressed Santa rediscovering his Christmas spirit with the help of a little girl (Leah Brady’s Trudy) who still believes in him.
The plot mechanics are pure Die Hard, down to Dominc Lewis’s score, which recalls the work of the late Michael Kamen.
The film’s pilfering is unabashed and served with a macabre twist - there is an entire set piece inspired by Home Alone that is hilariously violent.
In the lead role, David Harbour is perfect. With his heavy brow and lumbring physicality, he manages to capture the film’s tone with an existential weight that sells his ultimate redemption.
A fun slice of holiday mayhem, Violent Night is worth a look.
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