Violent Night Rotten Tomatoes Score Is Out

Violent Night finally has a score on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics are filled with a bit more holiday cheer than expected as the movie sits at 70% on the Tomatometer. That’s just the critics score and audiences are probably going to be even more kind to the David Harbour Christmas movie. He plays Santa Claus, and the star is looking for a measure of revenge after he gets tangled up in some sort of kidnapping plot. John Leguizamo is also along for the ride as action set pieces unfold over the course of the 1 hour and 40 minute runtime. A lot of non-franchise movies have struggled at the box office, but some stranger entries like Everything, Everywhere, All At Once, Smile, and The Lost City have found success in being totally distinct experiences. Maybe Violent Night could end up being a similar win for these smaller movies.

Back at CinemaCon, Harbour actually introduced the movie and courted the similarities to something like Die Hard. It’s not hard to see the appeal of a straightforward action romp, especially one with a holiday coat of paint. The Santa Claus actor has to be ecstatic to see this kind of performance right out of the gate. 

Harbour began, “Escape is great. I’m a big fan. But what about movies that make you sweat? Don’t you love action movies? Who doesn’t love a great action movie, right? How about Christmas movies? So, what about a movie that’s a great action movie, and the greatest Christmas movie in one? Die Hard. F-cking Die Hard. Now what if…wait a minute, wait a minute. What if kick ass director Tommy Wirkola and the badass producers at 87North, you know, the maniacs who did Atomic Blonde and John Wick and Nobody and Hobbs and Shaw, were behind it all? And, wait a minute, what if I started in it as f-cking Santa Claus? Oh, do I swing a mother f-cking hammer? Yes. What you’re about to see is not an actual trailer, I don’t think, but you better not cry to somebody. You better not pout. I’m telling you why. Because Santa Claus is coming to town. Let’s f-cking go “

What is Violent Night About?

The studio has a synopsis for this wild ride: “To hell with “all is calm. From 87North, the bare-knuckle producers of Nobody, John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Bullet Train and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw comes a coal-dark holiday action-comedy that says you should always bet on red. 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, Black Widow, Stranger Things series) is on the grounds, and he’s about to show why this Nick is no saint.”

“The film also stars Emmy winner John Leguizamo (John Wick), Cam Gigandet (Without Remorse), Alex Hassell (Cowboy Bebop), Alexis Louder (The Tomorrow War), Edi Patterson (The Righteous Gemstones) and Beverly D’Angelo (National Lampoon’s Vacation franchise).”

Will you be seeing Violent Night this week? Let us know in the comments!