Review of Violent Night (2022) by Chrisnorton — 07 Aug 2023

Offers a few laugh out loud moments, plenty of originality, and a fun performance by David Harbour, but that's about it. There are too many elements at play, too many themes and genre mashing, that it loses structure and impact or anything emotionally weighty to grab you. Some of the humor hits solidly, but when you get to the action sequences, they don't hold much weight like Santa's hammer. You have to suspend reality and any logic in its entirety to have fun as a viewer, but I guess that's the point. Worth a watch, but nothing we need to revisit every holiday season.

Setting, Conflict, Character, Dialogue, Theme, Plot, and Climax: C-.

Runtime: 1:52.

Audience Engagement (do you feel runtime): No.

Top Genres: Action, Comedy, Crime, Fantasy, Thriller (Fiction).

Genre(s) rating Action - 6 Comedy - 6 Crime - 5 Fantasy - 6 Thriller - 5.

Genre Average Score: 5.6 Directing: 6 Cinematography/lighting: 8 Story/Narrative: 5 Structure: 3 Dialogue: 5 Score(music): 5 Editing: 6 Acting: 4 Characterization: 4 Mise en Scène/Visual Design: 3 Visual Effects: 7 Sound Design: 6 Costumes/Makeup: 6 Lasting Impact: 4 Originality: 8.

Overall: 5.