Violent Night – Movie Review

David Harbour is our most badass Santa to date in Violent Night.

Violent Night is the ultimate Rated-R holiday movie starring David Harbour as Santa Clause. The film also stars John Leguizamo, Edi Patterson, and lesser-known actors. It is directed by Tommy Wirkola and will give Die Hard a run for its money.

Synopsis

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 (David Harbour) is on the grounds, and he’s about to show why this Nick is no saint.

Violent Night is Bad Santa meets John Wick with a drizzle of Home Alone. Harbour is a sensation as Saint Nick. I am not sure what took so long to put him in the iconic red and white suit. You are in for a belligerent or violent treat every time he is on the screen. Despite being a dark movie, it still captures the Christmas Spirit with its messaging and fantastic Yuletide score. There is excellent humor all around, thanks to its dark satirical tone and plenty of epic kills. Unfortunately, most of the cast doesn’t bring much to the table and takes away from Harbour’s memorable performance, but some stand out.

John Luigzama, who was recently in The Menu, is always great on screen as he plays a villain named Scrooge who disdains Christmas. Additionally, Edi Patterson is a hoot in this movie. I love her in The Righteous Gemstones, and she plays a very similar character which seems to be her calling card. Finally, If you are a Christmas Vacation fan, you will get a kick out of Beverly D’Angelo being in this movie.

Verdict

I give Violent Night 3.5 out of 5 stars. It gives us our very first action hero Santa and will ensure the audience makes sure they are on the nice list for years to come. Catch it in theaters starting December 2nd but do not take the kids. Read more Reviews on Nerdtropolis and Subscribe to our YouTube.