VIOLENT NIGHT could have been a really entertaining film indeed. The premise and the casting of David Harbour (which absolutely carries the film, if we're being honest) are actually pretty great.
Unfortunately, the film is being held back by both an inconsistent script and uninspired direction. The first drags the film down by an ever-shifting tonality which makes me wonder if there were too many cooks resulting in this spoiled broth. The insecure direction also smells like too much of an outside influence by some naive and simplistic producer, pretty similar in style to many other 87eleven North productions.
All of this isn't helped by the obvious and overdone DIE HARD references that pretty much reach the point of plagiarism in some cases. Add in some stunt performers that have been promoted to actors (which they kinda aren't), and you have a christmas dinner that doesn't smell very good, but still manages to satisfy a few cravings.
Some performances and ideas make the film bearable indeed, but still, VIOLENT NIGHT ends up being a bit of a frustrating experience when you start realising that this could have been so much better with a better script and a more competent director.
Unfortunately, the film is being held back by both an inconsistent script and uninspired direction. The first drags the film down by an ever-shifting tonality which makes me wonder if there were too many cooks resulting in this spoiled broth. The insecure direction also smells like too much of an outside influence by some naive and simplistic producer, pretty similar in style to many other 87eleven North productions.
All of this isn't helped by the obvious and overdone DIE HARD references that pretty much reach the point of plagiarism in some cases. Add in some stunt performers that have been promoted to actors (which they kinda aren't), and you have a christmas dinner that doesn't smell very good, but still manages to satisfy a few cravings.
Some performances and ideas make the film bearable indeed, but still, VIOLENT NIGHT ends up being a bit of a frustrating experience when you start realising that this could have been so much better with a better script and a more competent director.