A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this movie.
-
Positive Messages
a little
Messages about believing in yourself and in the true spirit of Christmas (joy and giving), as well as some secondary messages cautioning against greed and selfishness -- but all of these are muted by the movie's embrace of extreme violence.
-
Positive Role Models
some
This Santa Claus is hardly traditional. He's troubled by excessive greed in the world, he drinks a lot, he's burned out and thinking of quitting. But he's still moved by people who aren't selfish and who believe in the spirit of giving, and it motivates him to continue on and continue spreading joy. Young Trudy is a delightful character, all positivity and sweetness, which is especially admirable given that she was raised wealthy and could have turned out selfish and greedy.
-
Diverse Representations
some
Santa Claus is a White male, but the rest of the cast is more diverse. A White man is married to a Black woman; their biracial daughter is the heart of the movie. The band of villains is led by a character played by Puerto Rican-Colombian actor John Leguizamo and also includes Filipino Canadian actor Stephanie Sy. Additional actors of color appear in smaller roles.
Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.
-
Violence & Scariness
a lot
Over-the-top violence, with guns and shooting, fighting, punching, kicking, stabbing, slicing, and knife-throwing. Fighting with a sledgehammer and other hand-held weapons and blunt objects. Characters are killed. Blood spurts, gurgling blood. A body is demolished, turned into a headless, bloody mess. Heads are bashed and limbs broken. Character stabbed in eye with Christmas decoration, then electrocuted; skull on fire. Characters thrown around, slammed against walls, other hard objects. Falling from window, character impaled. Character blown up by grenade. Woman, child punched in face. Women threatened by gun. Character's finger snapped in nutcracker figurine. Characters impaled by sharp objects. Characters bashed with heavy objects. Character stitching up bloody wound. Snowmobile crash. Blood-smeared weapon, dripping blood. Violent dialogue.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
Get started
See AlsoViolent Night Review - IGN -
Sex, Romance & Nudity
a little
Kissing. Strong sex-related dialogue.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.
Get started
-
Language
a lot
Strong, frequent language includes "f--k," "motherf----r," "c--ksucker," "s--t," "bulls--t," "t-ts," "a--hole," "bitch," "goddamn," "bastard," "ass," "whor*," "d--k," "balls," "hell," "damn," "crap," "butthole," "anus," "idiot," "shut the f--k up." "Jesus Christ" as an exclamation.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.
Get started
-
Products & Purchases
very little
Boxes with the Amazon logo are featured in one funny shot.
-
Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
some
Santa drinks and appears extremely drunk in a bar. He steals beer and other drinks. He "shotguns" a beer. He belches and vomits. Other characters drink pints of beer in a bar. Wealthy characters at Christmas party drink martinis and wine. A woman pours half a bottle of alcohol into a glass in one scene. There are no consequences for drinking.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.
Get started
-
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Violent Night is an over-the-top Christmas-themed action comedy about Santa Claus (David Harbour) trying to help a family being held hostage. It has tons of blood, gore, and strong language, but it's also irreverent and engaging. Violence is extreme, with fighting, guns and shooting, hitting with hand-held weapons and blunt objects, stabbing, slicing, gore, blood spurts, bloody wounds, gurgling blood, heads bashed, limbs broken, eyes gouged, characters electrocuted, explosions, threats, and much more. Swearing includes uses of "f--k," "s--t," "c--ksucker," "bitch," "a--hole," "goddamn," etc. There's also some strong sex-related dialogue and kissing. Santa drinks a lot (and gets drunk), and secondary characters drink socially and during tense situations. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
What's the Story?
In VIOLENT NIGHT, it's Christmas Eve, and Santa Claus (David Harbour) is feeling burned out by a world with too much greed and too little Christmas spirit. Meanwhile, Jason Lightstone (Alex Hassell) is heading to an annual holiday family gathering with his estranged wife, Linda (Alexis Louder), and their daughter, Trudy (Leah Brady). They'll be spending the holiday with Jason's insanely wealthy mother, Gertrude Lightstone (Beverly D'Angelo), his nasty sister (Edi Patterson), and her family. Just as Santa arrives there to deliver gifts -- and takes a break to sample some fine liquor along with his cookies -- the criminal mastermind called "Mr. Scrooge" (John Leguizamo) breaks in with his gang of minions, intending to steal $300 million from Gertrude's vault. But the money appears to be missing, and the Lightstones are taken hostage. However, because Trudy is a true believer, Santa musters up some long-buried strength and courage to fight those on the "Naughty" list and hopefully save the day.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Violent Night's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?
How is drinking depicted? Do characters overindulge? Is this glamorized? Are there consequences? Why does that matter?
What does the movie have to say about commercialism and greed? Are these things rewarded, or are they shown to be bad? How?
Do you find it entertaining to watch irreverent Christmas movies? Why, or why not? Does this movie still manage to celebrate the spirit of giving and spreading joy?
Movie Details
- In theaters: December 2, 2022
- On DVD or streaming: January 24, 2023
- Cast: David Harbour, John Leguizamo, Beverly D'Angelo
- Director: Tommy Wirkola
- Inclusion Information: Latino actors, Female actors
- Studio: Universal Pictures
- Genre: Comedy
- Topics: Holidays
- Run time: 101 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: strong bloody violence, language throughout and some sexual references
- Last updated: May 31, 2024
Inclusion information powered by 
