Violent Night
Universal Pictures | Release Date: December 2, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
55
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 37 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
11
Negative:
6
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
38
RogerEbert.comPeter SobczynskiDec 2, 2022
A largely tedious cinematic lump of coal that unsuccessfully tries to stretch its one-joke premise out to 101 minutes in a tonally uneven attempt to position itself as a new alternative holiday classic. Read full review
38
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsDec 1, 2022
I found Violent Night to be a joyless slay ride, not to mention verbally witless. There’s not much kick in seeing an R-rated version of “Home Alone,” and even that owed its home-invasion nastiness to Sam Peckinpah’s “Straw Dogs.” Read full review
38
Slant MagazineDerek SmithNov 30, 2022
Ultimately, it’s the filmmakers’ insistence on both subverting the expectations of the family Christmas film and upholding them that leaves Violent Night feeling like it wants to have its Christmas cookies and eat them too. Read full review
30
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Radheyan SimonpillaiDec 14, 2022
Not that Harbour is the reason that Violent Night lands like a lump of coal. He does what he can in a witless movie that is too easily satisfied with its own premise and often feels like it’s elbowing you in the ribs trying to get you to laugh along with it. Read full review
30
The New York TimesElisabeth VincentelliDec 1, 2022
Adding insult to bodily injury, the director, Tommy Wirkola (“The Trip,” “Dead Snow”), and the screenwriters, Pat Casey and Josh Miller, can’t even muster any decent set pieces. Instead, the movie unfurls as a tedious series of bloody deaths and witless dialogue. Read full review
10
Rolling StoneDavid FearDec 1, 2022
This is the sort of lazy, slapdash, self-impressed excuse for “edgy” entertainment that makes you enraged. It’s not even so-bad-it’s-good; this is so bad you’re tempted to kick those responsible for it right in the jingle bells. Read full review
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