Violent Night was exactly what I was looking for heading into this movie. It is laugh-out-loud funny with spectacular action and brutal gory kills, a perfect blend for a Christmas film!
When David Harbor is on screen this movie works wonderfully. I never knew I needed a David Harbor Santa Claus, but now that we got it, I want to see more. He portrays a charming grumpy Santa wonderfully. His lack of care and worldview had me laughing in so many instances. This performance carried the film and was the only reason I was there.
Unfortunately, the writers tried to do a little too much with all the secondary characters. There are subplots sprinkled throughout that take away from the action adding unnecessary minutes to this film. This creates an unbalanced pace that jumps from interesting action to boring side character development, really messing with the flow. This film is nearly 2 hours long, and that length is felt at times. If these side plots were to be eliminated and we streamlined the action the film would have been all the better for it.
All in all, Violent Night effectively achieves its main goal and provides a brutal Christmas movie that I will be revisiting every season.
Score: 68% | Verdict: Good | Theater Verdict: See It