AT cruel nightSanta Claus double checks his naughty list and beats the bad guys to a pulp with a sledgehammer on Christmas Eve. If not David Harbor tied to the title role, it would be easy to make a mistake cruel night for a B-movie condemned to oblivion after Christmas. Instead, director Tommy Wirkola makes the most of the budget to give us a new holiday classic that echoes the joy of Christmas without holding back any blows about over-the-top violence.
cruel night doesn’t waste time making Santa Claus from the Harbor a multi-level character. After more than a thousand years of working to please well-behaved children, Santa is fed up with seeing people grow greedy and spoiled, demanding more every year and turning Christmas into a purely commercial holiday. No wonder that cruel nightSanta is a swearing alcoholic who visits pubs between gift giving. However, after being inadvertently caught in the middle of a hostage robbery, Santa decides to use his Christmas magic to help young Trudy (Leah Brady), a really good kid who still believes that Christmas should be about spreading love. So that cruel night quickly turns into a fighter who holds his tenacious inspiration close to the chest, and Santa hunts down criminals one by one and disposes of them with extreme prejudice.
cruel night lives up to its name by giving Harbor creative ways to get rid of criminals. There are dozens of deaths in the film, many of which use Christmas items as weapons. And the result is so terrible that anyone who watches the movie will think twice about what to use as decoration for this holiday. It also helps to keep things relevant that Santa’s magical powers are being put to good use, giving him the tools he needs to take on heavily armed thugs.
The icing on the cake is that criminals use holiday-themed code names, such as the villainous Mr. Scrooge (John Leguizamo) at the head of the pack. And yes, Mr. Scrooge has a backstory that makes him hate Christmas. The result is a hilarious game of cat and mouse that always ends in glorious brutality. The stupidity of the whole concept cruel nightthe greatest power, and Wirkola knows how to explore the absurdity of every death. As a result, instead of cringing with blood, the entire theater bursts into constant laughter.
it’s not only tenacious what cruel night tries to imitate as the movie connects directly to Alone at home franchise. No family rating restrictions, cruel night can explore the realistic (and bloody) results of taking over a house with booby traps against burglars. Again, this is all masterfully done to entertain viewers, resulting in a fun experience.
Bye cruel night is a black comedy at its core, it would be surprising to know that the film also has a big heart. Santa is getting an updated origin story that explains how he can easily take on the bad guys as well as transform cruel night into a sort of redemptive story. A bond then develops between Santa and Trudy, who helps the old man rediscover what Christmas is all about. Drawings from the classics such as Grinch as well as Miracle on 34th Street, cruel night there really is something to be said about the Christmas spirit in the midst of all the bloodshed. And while this approach may work in general, it can also slow down the pace of the movie and sometimes sound superficial.
As cruel night explicitly states that the values of Christmas are under threat because the holiday has been swallowed up by commercial efforts. However, Santa begins to fight criminals after a family of millionaires becomes hostages of a robbery. And while the film never refrains from portraying rich people as self-absorbed jerks, in the end they are still victims who have done nothing to change their lifestyle and learned nothing about Christmas values. Although Mr. Scrooge has to fall for his greed and violence, half of the hostages Santa rescues deserve to be on his naughty list.
Also, it may seem cynical to place a sentimental message about Christmas values in a film not intended for children. In fact, given the vicious nature cruel nightThis movie is not for the whole family to watch. So, especially in the third act, we just want Santa to go back to fighting thugs, and not hear another time that Christmas is about love, not gifts. But then again, what better way than Christmas to be cheesy?
Despite the uneven rhythm caused by a mixture of ultra-violence and sentimental Christmas messages, cruel night is still a solid holiday movie with the potential to spawn a new franchise. It’s easy to see cruel night becomes part of our regular Christmas watch list as the last movie to watch after the kids have gone to bed waiting for Santa. That’s because the movie delves into Christmas mythology and the holiday theme never feels out of place. At the same time, Violent Night offers exceptional adult entertainment with one of the best bad Santas Hollywood has ever made. Although it is far from perfect, cruel night it’s too fun not to go back to it, which means it could become a new holiday classic in the coming years.
Rating: B+
cruel night Releases in theaters December 2nd.
- Fandango
- Cineplex
- A.M.C. theaters
- Cinemas
- Royal theaters
Source: Collider
