Violent Night

It’s like attending a party where no two guests are on sufficiently good terms to manage even 20 minutes of civilised conversation. “Perfect for Christmas Day then,” I hear you say. Too cynical.

112 minutes of your life rather than a day, which is a small gift...

Violent Night offers up a timely amalgam: It is torture porn that is also a morality play.

David Harbour makes a particularly good cranky, butt-kicking Santa, in a movie that offers the sort of shared experience that should bring theaters some much-needed cheer.

"Behind all the gore-splattered walls and domestic rancor lies a sweet-and-sour bedtime story of good triumphing over evil."

The fight scenes are competent&#59; the gore and gunfire are plentiful, there are some reasonably clever kills, and the occasional kidding of action movie clichés are welcome.

Did we need a shallow dive into a deeper, new lore about Santa? No. Do we need the inevitable sequel with Valkyrie Mrs. Claus? Probably not...

What elevates “Violent Night” from a mindless, holiday-themed action film was its ability to balance the violence and the heartwarming emotions.

A mean-spirited film with nothing to redeem.

It’s brimming with both warmth and cynicism, cementing a Santa perfectly attuned to the times and emblematic of the joy and anguish that pervades this time of year... a new Christmas classic.