YMMV / Violent Night

• Broken Base:
  • To some viewers, the backstory regarding Santa's time as a bloodthirsty Viking named Nicomund the Red. Some see it as an intriguing and surprisingly coherent explanation for Santa having the ability to kick ass and fitting with the movie's Central Theme that anyone can become a good person despite their past. Others find it to be a strange and unnecessary addition in which the movie takes itself too seriously while also taking time away from the Santa-on-bad guy carnage people came to see in the first place irregardless of backstory.
  • The subplots regarding the family. Some believe it makes them sympathetic. Others feel it makes the movie drag while also throwing in dashes of Mood Whiplash, where serious moments are unexpectedly interrupted by comedy and vice versa.
• Crosses the Line Twice:
  • The bartender staring up at the sky watching the real Santa Claus take to the sky? Heartwarming. Santa blowing chunks straight onto her head from high in the sky? Disgusting but amusing. Her wondrous expression completely unchanged despite being soaked in vomit? Hilarious.
  • This movie showcases what Home Alone would've looked like if it were rated R. The results are as messy as they are funny.
• Estrogen Brigade: If the Letterboxd reviews are anything to go by, a lot of viewers found David Harbour as Santa to be quite attractive. Being a Deadpan Snarker Jerk with a Heart of Gold who will protect children with his life certainly helps.
• Fanfic Fuel: Post-release, there is a lot of people who think the story of how bloodthirsty Viking warrior Nicomund the Red became spirit of holiday cheer Santa Claus really deserves its own movie, especially in the form of a prequel.
• Friendly Fandoms: With, of all things, I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson. A lot of ITYSL fans have acknowledged that it's the closest thing we'll ever get to a Crashmore movie.
• Genius Bonus: Gertrude remarks that the nickname "Trudy" makes her granddaughter sound like a "whore". The crux of the St. Nicholas legend has the future Father Christmas anonymously giving gold to an impoverished family so their three daughters will not have to become sex workers.
• Just Here for Godzilla: You watched this movie for one reason and one reason only: to see Santa Claus kick ass. Which can also boil down to seeing David Harbour kick ass.
• Love to Hate: Mr. Scrooge makes for a fun and surprisingly sympathetic antagonist thanks to John Leguizamo clearly enjoying himself while also managing to be a menacing, despicable presence.
• Magnificent Bastard:
  • Santa Claus himself, formerly Nicomund the Red, started as an uncompromising Viking who constantly pillaged and killed for riches before mellowing out and becoming the beloved Christmas mascot. Having fulfilled his role of bringing gifts to the good kids all over the world for centuries, Santa—despite becoming disillusioned as a result of Christmas spirit and belief in him lacking—still delivered gifts to kids he came across who were desperately in need of them due to circumstances. Having taken to drinking due to his frustration, Santa at first tries to flee when discovering "Mr. Scrooge" and his terrorist group took over Gertrude Lightstone's massive household and took her and her family hostage, but then resorts to brutally fighting back and killing the armed gunmen when her kind-hearted young granddaughter Trudy reaches out to him and he's inspired to help. While he stops at one point to watch a mook blown up with a grenade he put on him, Santa proves an exceptional tactical expert otherwise—especially when disposing of Scrooge himself by using his powers to blast him up a chimney with him.
  • "Ebenezer Scrooge", real name Jimmy Martinez, grew up not getting much as a child due to his family being poor and then one Christmas when he tried to steal something cherished from a neighbor, accidentally killed that family's grandfather and became the town pariah. Taking to a life of crime and becoming a professional thief as a result, Scrooge installs his people under Gertrude Lightstone as staff so as to take the rest of her staff out on Christmas Eve to take over her house, hold her and her family hostage, and then raid her vault of the hundreds of millions of dollars in it. Scrooge even resorts to bribing her personal kill squad to his side so that once they show up they'll work for him as well. Combating Santa's actions against him, Scrooge eventually takes him on in a fight and—discovering he really is actually Santa—resolves to finish him off—and nearly succeeds—to end Christmas for good.
• Moral Event Horizon: After getting his hands on the "Naughty List" and finally accepting that Santa's real, Scrooge crosses it when he decides to kill Santa regardless out of spite. Despite his tragic backstory, being confronted with the immorality of his actions, and presented with the chance that he could be rewarded for reforming, his refusal to change or take responsibility for his actions, combined with doubling down on his ire and bitterness, proves that he truly is beyond salvation.
• Obvious Judas: For those who watched the trailers, it's unsurprising that the extraction team that was hired was in Mr. Scrooge's pocket given that the trailers showed Santa fighting one of their members.
• One-Scene Wonder:
  • The optimistic and generous mall Santa who the real Santa encounters at a bar is only in about half of the opening scene, but is pretty notable.
  • Tinsel and Frosty are the first two robbers killed and get little to do before their fights with Santa, but they make an impression for being a Pint-Size Powerhouse Combat Pragmatist and The Determinator, respectively, during their fights. Tinsel also getting a possible Pet the Dog moment in trying to take Santa prisoner despite being told to kill anyone he found besides members of the family is also notable, as is the novel way Frosty is killed.
• Spiritual Successor: To the Norse Chapters of the God of War video game series; both are tales of Norse immortals (granted, Kratos is a Greek by birth but Norse by immigration/cultural adoption) who learn to forgive themselves of their brutal war crimes in centuries past by reconciling with and embracing the violence of the warrior within rather than reject it, so they can protect a beloved child and become better people.
• Tear Jerker:
  • In response to Santa's apology that he can only bring happiness, not directly interfere in the lives of others, Scrooge, enraged, bitterly screams in response, "Well maybe you fucking should!!'" Even a monster like him once wanted to just be a happy, good little boy, but to be deemed a murderer at ten years old just for wanting a Merry Christmas, resulting in the entry "broke his mother's heart" on the "Naughty List" he finds on Santa, puts his rage and resentment towards Christmas into a somewhat more justified context.
  • Santa berates Gingerbread (Bjørn) and Candy Cane (Kira) for Gingerbread having gotten his wanted Christmas present as a child so he doesn’t have Scrooge’s justification and Candy Cane was a naughty child. The looks on their faces as they momentarily realize from the Santa that they are genuinely terrible people.
  • If Santa comforting Trudy after being fatally shot by the remaining mercenary is not sad enough, then the gentle yet solemn "Silent Night" played over his death practically stabs you in the heart.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Sugarplum The Cracker has the potential to be one of the more interesting villains but barely interacts with anyone else in the movie (mainly just being out of sight at work on the vault) and it's hard to even tell what happens to her in the final act, though she's confirmed to have been killed in the gunfight between Linda and the mercenaries.

---