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24 October · 62 days to ChristmasThe advent calendar opens 1 December →
A glowing fireplace and decorated tree fill one side of a grand teal hallway, with cookies, a glass, a toy radio and a broken candy cane on the floor.

Essential Christmas · 2022

Violent Night

82/100Festive FactorWhy it scores 82 ↓
UK certificate 15112 min
Comedy · Action

Exactly what the title promises, and far more festive than a title like that suggests.

Rent or buy · Prime Video, Rakuten TV and more →
Plan this film night ↓Can the kids watch? ↓
Explore this film 12 sections

The CineClaus Christmas score

Festive Factor

Christmas, right to its heart.

Two paper elves study a miniature teal mansion room with a magnifying glass. A tall Christmas tree, fireplace, cookies, toy radio and broken candy cane fill the model.

A little magic in the making.

Five ingredients make the Festive Factor.
Open an ingredient to find out more.

Christmas in the storyIt can't exist without Christmas.30/30

What we ask: Take Christmas out. Does the plot survive? Worth up to 30 of the 100 points.

A world dressed for ChristmasVisibly Christmas for effectively all of it.20/20

What we ask: How much of the running time is visibly Christmas? Worth up to 20 of the 100 points.

The little seasonal details6 of the 10 kinds of Christmas icon we count turn up on screen.9/15

What we ask: How many kinds of Christmas icon turn up on screen: trees, lights, snow, carols and the rest? Worth up to 15 of the 100 points.

A Christmas heartHow far the ending rests on goodwill, family and belief: substantially.15/20

What we ask: Does the ending depend on what Christmas means: goodwill, family, redemption, belief? Worth up to 20 of the 100 points.

A returning traditionA big December film (80,000+).8/15

What we ask: Is it actually watched at Christmas in the UK? Worth up to 15 of the 100 points.

48/100

Cosiness Rating Rating

Mixed in tone. Grim. A happy ending.

How we score →
What do these scores mean?

Festive Factor measures how Christmassy a film is. Five ingredients add up to 100: story (30), setting (20), seasonal details (15), emotional heart (20) and returning tradition (15).

Cosiness is a separate score for warmth of tone, sense of safety, visual comfort, a reassuring ending and how easily you can settle into it.

How the Festive Factor works →
Your next film night

Where to watch

United KingdomChecked

Prime Video

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Violent Night · Rental and purchase cost extra, separately from membership.

As an Amazon Associate, Cine Claus earns from qualifying purchases. Buying through a link helps pay for the site - it never changes a score.

Streaming changes constantly and we cannot promise it is still right - check the service before you settle in. Streaming availability information provided by Streaming Availability API by Movie of the Night (opens in a new tab). Sky and Rakuten TV data by JustWatch.

The story

About Violent Night

On Christmas Eve a jaded, hard-drinking Father Christmas is doing his rounds when he drops into the mansion of a squabbling, very rich family just as a gang of armed mercenaries takes them hostage to empty the vault. Stuck in the house, and guided by a young girl who still believes in him and talks to him over a toy walkie-talkie, he fights back with whatever the decorated house puts in reach. Somewhere in the carnage he remembers why he took the job in the first place.

The CineClaus verdict

Exactly what the title promises, and far more festive than a title like that suggests.

David Harbour plays a burnt-out Father Christmas stuck in a rich family's house with a gang of armed robbers, and the fights are built from whatever the decorations put in reach. It is gory and very pleased with itself, but underneath sits a sincere little story about belief, and the ending pays it off properly.

Line it up after Die Hard for adults who want the same idea with more tinsel and far less restraint.

The family desk

Can the kids watch?

15

Our take: a young girl is among the hostages, and it is a BBFC 15 for strong bloody violence, gore and swearing, so save it for older teenagers.

BBFC advice: Strong bloody violence, gore, language, sex references.

Content advice & accessibility
Where the advice comes from
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).
Our age guidance
Editorial, separate from the official 15 certificate, and never looser than it.
Subtitles · Audio description
Check your chosen service and edition for supported tracks.
A first look

Watch the trailer

Official trailer from Universal Pictures.

Cookies and an empty glass sit by a paper mansion hearth. A red toy walkie-talkie rests beneath a decorated tree, and a broken candy cane lies on the tiled floor.

Trailer

Violent Night

Watch on YouTube (opens in a new tab)Nothing from YouTube loads until you press play.
The people behind the film

Cast and crew

The faces in front of the camera, and the people who brought the story to life.

Main cast

In billing order
Close photograph of a man with short fair hair and a goatee speaking into a handheld microphone at a fan convention panel, wearing a green zip-neck jumper.David Harbouras Santa Claus
Close portrait of John Leguizamo, a man with short dark curly hair and a grey goatee, wearing a black suit, shirt and tie.John Leguizamoas Scrooge
Alex Hassellas Jason Lightstone
Alexis Louderas Linda
Edi Pattersonas Alva Lightstone
A smiling man with short bleached blond hair and a grey shirt with rolled sleeves, arms crossed, speaking beside a microphone at a convention press wallCam Gigandetas Morgan Steel
Woman with swept-up blonde hair and pale blue eyes, in a black velvet-collared jacket, looking to the side against a white backdrop.Beverly D'Angeloas Gertrude Lightstone
A bearded man with light eyes in a tan cap and a black leather jacket with tan trim, standing in front of a festival backdropBrendan Fletcheras Krampus

Behind the camera

Directed by
Tommy Wirkola
Original score
Dominic Lewis
Writing & production credits
Writers
Pat Casey
Josh Miller
Producers
David Leitch
Kelly McCormick
Photo credits

Portraits via Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence, approved for this page by a person. Sources and full photographer credits:

David Harbour · German Comic Con · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY 3.0 (opens in a new tab).

John Leguizamo · PhilipRomano · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab).

Cam Gigandet · MuseLed · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab).

Beverly D'Angelo · The Drama League · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab).

Brendan Fletcher · Kevin Payravi · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab).

Keep the Christmas feeling

Music & soundtrack

That tune you recognised. That score you loved. Take a little of the film into the rest of your Christmas.

The original score album, track by track.

Behind the music. Dominic Lewis composed the score.

About this music list

These are the songs and soundtrack we hold for the film, not a complete cue sheet, and they give no scene timings. Album track lists and durations come from MusicBrainz. Spotify and Apple Music links open the matched recordings; links marked Search open a search on that service. Album covers are each release's own, from the Cover Art Archive, credited under the cover.

Film Music Reporter ↗ (opens in a new tab) Filmtracks ↗ (opens in a new tab) MusicBrainz ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Step into the story

Filming locations

The real places behind Violent Night. Choose one to explore.

Find it on the mapWinnipeg, Manitoba

© OpenStreetMap contributors (opens in a new tab)

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Map shows the selected place. Drag to explore; use + and − to zoom.

Photo credits & location sources

These are photographs of the places, not film stills. Dates vary; photographs do not show current conditions or guarantee access.

Winnipeg, Manitoba · Quintin Soloviev · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC0 (opens in a new tab) · The Hollywood Reporter (opens in a new tab)

Map pins mark the place, not a camera position or a route. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), including any pin positions read from OpenStreetMap.

A little more Violent Night

Film facts &
behind the scenes

For the fans who stay after the credits.

Movie magic

Santa's weapons are made from Christmas decorations

The visual effects team built the hero's weapons from festive objects such as ornaments, candy canes and stars. Most were real props, with digital extensions added later for the knives and candy canes and for objects in flight.

Read the story
On your next watchWhich weapons are real props in hand and which stretch or fly through the air.

Source: VFX Voice ↗ (opens in a new tab)

On set

Shot in the Canadian deep freeze

The main unit worked in Winnipeg in midwinter, in temperatures mostly between minus 15 and minus 40 degrees Celsius, with interiors built on stage at a local film studio. Cold broke equipment and stopped tracking markers sticking to the bluescreen.

Read the story
On your next watchThe real breath and frost in the exterior scenes.

Source: VFX Voice ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Movie magic

The reindeer were filmed in a different city

A second unit shot the reindeer in Calgary, the only Canadian location that fitted the schedule before real reindeer lose their antlers in February. Two or three live animals served as reference for the digital herd and sleigh.

Read the story
On your next watchThe reindeer moving through the air as if through water, which was the director's aim.

Source: VFX Voice ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Movie magic

The Viking flashback is all digital painting

The flashback environments were built from scratch as digital matte paintings, a nod to the Norwegian roots of director Tommy Wirkola.

Read the story

Source: VFX Voice ↗ (opens in a new tab)

And at a glance

The Christmas in it
Set on 24 December. Carols and songs heard: A Holly Jolly Christmas, Deck the Halls, Jingle Bells, It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Silent Night, The Twelve Days of Christmas, Ding Dong Merrily on High, Christmas Time, Merry Xmas Everybody. The siege happens over Christmas Eve night, and the soundtrack works its way through a long list of carols and Christmas pop, several of them reworked in the score.
Releases and certificates
: In cinemas, rated 15. Opened in British cinemas the same Friday as in America, three weeks before Christmas.
: In cinemas (US).
At the UK box office
£3,662,081, as of .
Sources & a note on these facts

Each production story is linked to its source, in our own words. Ending details stay behind a spoiler reveal.

Gifts for film lovers · Violent Night

Something for the Violent Night fan

Little gifts for someone whose Christmas always includes Violent Night.

As an Amazon Associate, Cine Claus earns from qualifying purchases. Buying through a link helps pay for the site - it never changes a score.

For the fan who watches it every Christmas.Sold by the linked retailer
Good to know

Questions about Violent Night

Is Violent Night a Christmas film?

Yes. We class it as an essential Christmas film: Father Christmas is the hero, the siege happens on Christmas Eve, and the fights are built from the decorations.

What age rating is Violent Night in the UK?

It is a 15 in the UK. The BBFC says it contains strong bloody violence, gore, language and sex references, so it is not one for younger children.

When did Violent Night come out in UK cinemas?

It opened in British cinemas on 2 December 2022, the same day as in America.

Where was Violent Night filmed?

In and around Winnipeg, in Canada, in early 2022.

What songs are in Violent Night?

Burl Ives opens it in a pub, Bryan Adams plays over a fight in a shed and Slade's Merry Xmas Everybody starts the end credits. The score, full of reworked carols, is by Dominic Lewis.

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