Violent Night early reviews name David Harbour's surprisingly lethal Santa Claus as the highlight of the David Leitch-produced action-comedy movie. The Stranger Things star portrays the iconic holiday figure in Tommy Wirkola's bloody Christmas movie. Violent Night sees a cynical Santa left to rely on his wit and skill when caught up in a Christmas Eve heist on the wealthy Lightstone family's home, forcing him to take brutal action against Mr. Scrooge's (John Leguizamo) band of mercenaries to save the lives of Trudy Lightstone (Leah Brady) and her family.
With Violent Night set to release in theaters on December 2, early reviews have been released, and critics are praising the darkly comedic film for its intense action sequences and a unique take on classic Christmas iconography. Reviews name Harbour's Santa Claus as a highlight of the film's cast, while praising the film's bloody and bizarre action and surprisingly heartfelt take on core seasonal values. Check out what critics felt about Harbour's holiday film in a selection of spoiler-free samples below:
Angie Han - THR
Tommy Wirkola’s Violent Night is, blessedly, not that gift. It’s one that delivers exactly what it promises on the box. It does not necessarily deliver much more than it promises on the box, but then it doesn’t need to. For those to whom the idea of a home-invasion comedy-thriller starring David Harbour as a sledgehammer-wielding Kris Kringle holds self-evident appeal, this one seems destined to become an alt-holiday classic.
Owen Gleiberman - Variety
David Harbour gives off of a ping of likability, and that makes him the right actor to play a down-in-the-dumps, vengeance-is-mine Santa who is really, beneath his bloody mottled gray curls, the Christmas mensch we want him to be. John Leguizamo, as always, refuses to phone anything in; as Scrooge the sociopath who hates Christmas, he makes every obscenity pop. Beverly D’Angelo, Edi Patterson, and Cam Gigandet play the rest of the Lightstone clan as walking high-camp horrors, and Alexis Louder, as Jason’s estranged wife, lends a lone note of stubborn sanity to the proceedings. “Violent Night,” with its action-thriller soundtrack built around themes from classic Christmas songs, is a movie that makes you think: What’s next, “Massacre on 34th St.”? Christmas movies, like all Hollywood pulp, build on one another, and maybe this is just one more age-of-nothing-sacred holiday mish-mash, but “Violent Night,” depending on how it performs, could open the door to a new kind of down-and-dirty Christmas/action hybrid. Just imagine hearing lines like “God bless us — every one, motherfucker!” The possibilities are endless.
Matt Donato - IGN
In Violent Night, nothing is calm and fiery explosions are bright. Director Tommy Wirkola protects sentimental holiday cheer within a David Harbour showcase that gets nuttier than peanut brittle. Wirkola doesn't hold back as Home Alone becomes a graphic traps-that-kill homage or Santa pulverizes bone under heavy steel, embracing the B-Movie extremes that more than earn its hard "R" rating. Violent Night might take a hot minute to find its footing and keeps plucking low-hanging wordplay sugar plums, but at full strength, nobody's stopping Santa from making this year the reddest Christmas imaginable.
Alonso Duralde - TheWrap
"So yes, this is “Die Hard” in a house, with Père Noël himself stepping in for John McClane, but it’s to the credit of director Tommy Wirkola (“What Happened to Monday”) that “Violent Night” finds its own brand of thrilling mayhem and holiday-themed wisecracks, enough so that it steps out of the overwhelming shadow of Bruce Willis. Screenwriters Pat Casey and Josh Miller (the “Sonic the Hedgehog” movies) keep the action moving forward, but never at the expense of the characters, particularly the via-walkie-talkie relationship between Santa and Trudy."
Ben F. Silverio - /Film
This movie is sure to make even the most curmudgeonly Grinch grow their heart at least three sizes after watching it, particularly if they enjoy nonstop action and excessive savagery that you can (or should) only get on the silver screen. Seriously, some of the stuff that happens to these home invaders is really messed up, but they are the bad guys, so they have it coming. Despite that, this joyful film still manages to capture the essence of Christmas and deserves to be added to the regular holiday movie rotation (for the older members of the family) alongside "Miracle on 34th Street," "Batman Returns," or "Die Hard." Like the chaos probably caused when Grandma got ran over by a reindeer, it's hard to turn away from the madness.
Tim Grierson - Screen Daily
Making room for both madcap gore and holiday-season sentiment, Violent Night stuffs plenty of Die Hard and Home Alone into its bag of goodies, delivering a cheeky, derivative action-comedy in which Santa Claus is a John Wick-like badass who must face off with a house full of crooks. It’s a clever idea guided by David Harbour’s appealing, tonally tricky performance as the real Kris Kringle, whose growing pessimism about the amount of good he’s doing in the world will be challenged during a harrowing Christmas Eve that would make even John McClane tremble. The picture is irreverent yet oddly touching, never especially great but often disreputable fun.
Mark Kennedy - AP News
Such is “Violent Night,” a film that clearly no one wanted but somehow nicely acts as a chaser to all the sticky sentimentality this time of year. It is billed as an “alt-Christmas action-comedy” and it may be a litmus test of who is your real tribe: If you think watching Santa try to strangle a guy with Christmas lights is funny, this is the film for you.
Kate Erbland - Indiewire
We’re scarcely five minutes into Tommy Wirkola’s naughty new Christmas tale “Violent Night” before David Harbour’s chubby, drunk, and righteously pissed off St. Nick is puking off his sleigh onto one very confused bartender and revealing himself to, yes indeed, be the jolly one himself. If you can vibe with that whiplash-inducing comedic opening — gallons of vomit mixed with some magical holiday sweetness — you just might be in the right frame of mind to receive what’s to come in this hyper-violent, occasionally funny, and often oddly charming holiday trifle.
What Violent Night's Reviews Tell Us About The Movie
Though much of Violent Night's early marketing placed emphasis on Harbour's Santa Claus and the film's bloody violence, early reviews have highlighted aspects of the film the trailers only briefly alluded to. While Violent Night's Saint Nick is a twisted take on the beloved holiday figure, Harbour's Santa is a character with depth that not only explains what turned him cynical (and gave him the necessary training to take on a team of armed mercenaries), but also gives him a sweeter side that remains faithful to the figure's core ideals. Through Trudy's belief in him and what he represents, Harbour's Santa isn't simply reduced to a gimmick, but is a shockingly fun yet recognizable take on a character many have grown up with.
Violent Night also stands as the third action film produced by filmmaker and stunt performer Leitch, following his work on 2014's John Wick, Bob Odenkirk's 2021 action thriller Nobody, and 2022's Bullet Train. Each film received praise for its brutal and creative action scenes, with John Wick sparking an ongoing franchise set to expand into television and spinoff movies through its mysterious setting. As such, many viewers may be hopeful that Violent Night's actions may carry the same qualities that audiences have come to expect from films produced by Leitch.
Could Violent Night Ride John Wick & Nobody's Success?
While Violent Night may not spark a franchise like John Wick, its relentless action and surprising heart could see it become an unconventional holiday classic in the same vein as Die Hard, with audiences revisiting the film each year. Violent Night promises bloody seasons beatings, but it is clear from critics' responses that Wirkola's holiday heist movie is more than just a surface-level action flick. While 2022 has introduced audiences to many twisted takes on beloved classic children's figures in films, including Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey and fellow seasonal slasher The Mean One, Violent Night reviews suggest it doesn't shy away from remaining faithful to the more wholesome side of the character. Between creatively cruel Christmas-themed executions and Harbour's portrayal of Saint Nick, Violent Night may shape up to be a surprise holiday hit upon its December 2 release.
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