Notizie

Paramount+ is heading into the fall season by bringing TV watchers a whole new round of TV shows and films.

Our hearts were ringin’ in the key that our souls were singin’ for these new titles that are dropping on the streamer this September, just like Earth, Wind and Fire said. And if you love the group, you’ll have to check out the the TV special “A Grammy Salute to Earth, Wind & Fire Live: The 21st Night of September,” which drops on Sept. 21.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, because they are some absolute goodies that are landing at the top of the month that you’ll...

Christmas came early for fans of bloody and brutal Santas and David Harbour. A sequel to Tommy Wirkola's holiday-set action flick Violent Night is officially on its way, as 87North and Universal have set a release date. Harbour will get his suit and beard back on and get ready to rumble in theaters on December 4, 2026, landing the film right near the start of the holiday season. The Hollywood Reporter has also officially confirmed that Wirkola will be returning behind the camera for more Christmas carnage, as will the first film's writers, Pat Casey and Josh Miller, who've been hard at work on a script. Universal is circling September as a start date for filming in Winnipeg with 87North's Kelly McCormick and David Leitch back as producers.

Released in 2022, the original Violent Night was a treat for action fans and Christmas movie lovers alike, casting Harbour as a bitter old...

Beneath the Storm, the shark thriller from Norwegian filmmaker Tommy Wirkola, is now swimming into a 2026 release along with an updated title, Shiver, Deadline reports.

Shiver was originally set to release this summer on August 1. Now, the film is taking up prime real estate for shark horror by swimming into Independence Day weekend on July 3, 2026.

The holiday weekend calls the mother of all shark horror movies to mind: Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. The summer blockbuster turns 50 this year and famously took place over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, where a great white shark terrorized the beachside town of Amity.

Phoebe Dynevor (Fair Play), Whitney Peak (Hocus Pocus 2) and Djimon Hounsou (A Quiet Place: Part II) star in Shiver, produced by Adam McKay and Kevin Messick.

Plot details remain under wraps, of course, though the film’s new title is intriguing.

Wirkola is keeping busy; not only is Shiver on the way next year,...

In a series of changes to its slate of upcoming films, Sony has removed Legendary’s “Street Fighter” film adaptation, originally set for a March 20, 2026 debut, from its release calendar and shifted Tommy Wirkola’s shark thriller “Beneath the Storm,” now titled “Shiver,” from August 2025 to July 2026.

“Street Fighter” will be co-produced and developed by Capcom, the Japanese videogame developer who launched the original franchise in 1987, and Legendary, who scooped up the TV and film rights for the prolific game series in 2023. Further details about the film, such as plot, cast, director and writer, are all currently unknown.

If eventually rescheduled, this wouldn’t be the first time “Street Fighter” made its way to theaters. Universal produced a big screen adaptation of the game in 1994, which starred Jean-Claude Van Damme, Kylie Minogue, Ming-Na Wen and Raul Julia. In 2009, 20th Century Fox released its own spin on the franchise with “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li...

Norwegian director Tommy Wirkola is a favorite here on Bloody Disgusting, making a name for himself with the Dead Snow zombie comedies and then going on to direct Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, The Trip, and the Christmas action thriller Violent Night. Up next from Wirkola is something a little different: the adult animated sex comedy Spermageddon.

Directed by Tommy Wirkola and Rasmus A. Sivertsen, Spermageddon is being released in theaters in Norway this weekend, and we’ve got the trailer featuring English subtitles.

Wirkola tells Bd, “Really excited to finally set Spermageddon loose and see how audiences around the world take it in. It’s been an insane journey—now the real fun begins!”

Here’s the official synopsis: “Two narrative threads – one is an emerging love story between two awkward teens, Jens and Lisa, who are having sex for the first time and the other is an eventful...

2025 is starting strong with some high-profile releases early in the year, and February is especially interesting for the comic book and horror movie genres. The Josh Ruben-directed horror film Heart Eyes is set to hit the weekend before Valentine's Day, which is when Captain America: Brave New World premieres. However, another highly anticipated film comes at the end of February, with The Monkey hitting theaters on February 21st. The film has just had its first screenings for critics, and all the reactions mostly say the same two things: it's incredibly gory but hilarious.

Directed by Osgood Perkins, who recently made waves for his terrifying slow-burn horror Longlegs last year, The Monkey is based on a short story by Stephen King and produced by James Wan. The film's premise is simple but terrifying: a toy monkey discovered by twin brothers unleashes a series of inexplicable deaths seemingly tied to the toy's presence.

It will always be impossible to separate Jeremy Renner from his role as Hawkeye in the MCU, and even though he’s starred in other action franchises like Jason Bourne and Mission: Impossible, there’s one flick in his filmography he might wish would be forgotten. Renner stars alongside Bond girl Gemma Arterton in Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, the 2013 fairytale horror film that follows the duo of Hansel and Gretel, modern-day witch hunters who stumble into a case that could tell them everything they want to know about their past. Despite poor reviews of 14% from critics and 53% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, the film grossed $226 million and is one of the top projects on Prime Video globally, currently in the #5 spot at the time of writing.

Netflix's La Palma includes a great cast of both seasoned and new actors. Directed by Kasper Barfoed, the non-English language Netflix original series follows a group of characters on the westernmost island in the Canary Islands called La Palma as they are faced with a dangerous ecological crisis. The series' combination of familial loyalty, great visual effects, and an engaging storyline has made it a hit on the streaming platform.

Although several movies and TV shows depict natural disasters, there is something unique about La Palma. The series is intriguing from its very first episode and gets better as more information is revealed. The Netflix miniseries’ cast members all give an outstanding performance and perfectly portray the fear that comes with knowing that the world might be coming to an end.

Actor

Character

Anders Bassmo Christiansen

Fredrik

Ingrid Bolsø Berdal

Jennifer

Alma Günther

Sara

Thea Sofie Loch Næss

Marie...

Just in time for the Halloween season, the Peak Screaming Collection from Paramount+ has returned to the service today with a monster-sized lineup. The collection expands each year and this year features more genre-defining hits and classics than ever before, with over 450 new originals, fan-favorite horror movies and iconic Halloween episodes from beloved series.

The seasonal collection will include the debut of the Paramount+ original film Apartment 7A (September 27), a haunting prequel to the cult classic Rosemary’s Baby; and Spongebob Squarepants: Kreepaway Kamp (October 10), a new hour-long special where, while at Kamp Koral for a reunion, SpongeBob and the gang are stalked by a mysterious figure lurking in the shadows as campers start disappearing one by one.

The curated collection brings the household together by providing a scare for everyone with terrifying thrillers, spine-chilling films and frights for the fainthearted, with 25 expertly curated carousels. New and returning subgenres include the...

Norwegian Violent Night director Tommy Wirkola has something other than holiday fear in store this year. As opposed to the blood-fueled, action-packed horror film that made its mark in the snow in 2022, Wirkolas new thriller will come splashing into theaters in 2025. Shark thriller Beneath the Storm is anticipated to be just as bloody and violent as his previous box office hit Violent Night, but with a seasonal switch-up thats different from Wirkolas other work.

Per Variety, Beneath the Storm will be released by Columbia Pictures and stars Phoebe Dynevor, Whitney Peak, and Djimon Hounsou. Adam McKay and Kevin Messik will serve as the producers. Besides Violent Night, Wirkola is perhaps best known for directing films like Dead Snow, What Happened to Monday, and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. His most recent animated feature-length film, Spermageddon, was a hit at the 2024 Annecy Animation Festival.

Related Nobody 2 & Violent Night 2 Get Exciting...

“Violent Night” director Tommy Wirkola’s next project is shaping up. His shark thriller has now been titled “Beneath the Storm” and is set to be released theatrically Aug. 1, 2025, via Columbia Pictures.

The film, written by Wirkola, stars Phoebe Dynevor, Whitney Peak and Djimon Hounsou and is produced by Adam McKay and Kevin Messick. Plot details remain under wraps.

Wirkola’s previous directorial credits include “Dead Snow,” “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters” and “What Happened to Monday.”

Dynevor, best known for her star turn as Daphne Bridgerton in Netflix’s hit series “Bridgerton,” has also appeared in films such as “The Colour Room,” “Bank of Dave” and “Fair Play.” She received a BAFTA Rising Star Award nomination in 2024. Up next, she will be seen in Neil Burger’s Miramax spy thriller “Inheritance” and the Diane Lane-led drama “Anniversary.”

Peak led Max’s reboot of “Gossip Girl” for two seasons, and...

Sony has titled the Tommy Wirkola thriller starring Phoebe Dynevor, Beneath the Storm.

The shark thriller will hit theaters next summer on Aug. 1. Also on this release date are the wide entries, The Bad Guys 2 from Universal and DreamWorks Animation and an untitled Warner Bros event feature.

Wirkola also wrote the movie which stars Whitney Peak and Djimon Hounsou.

Producers are Oscar winner Adam McKay and Kevin Messick.

Dynevor broke out in Netflix’s Bridgerton series as Daphne Bridgerton. The 2023 posh erotic thriller Fair Play, in which she starred opposite Alden Ehrenreich, propelled her star further with a BAFTA nomination for her work. The movie was scooped up by Netflix out of Sundance 2023. She’s starring in two more thrillers: spy pic Inheritance from filmmaker Neil Burger and Anniversary, which also stars Diane Lane, Zoey Deutch and more.

Wirkola directed such cult genre titles as Violent Night and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters.

Filmmaker Tommy Wirkola’s ocean-set thriller starring Phoebe Dynevor is set to make a splash next summer.

Sony Pictures announced Wednesday that the previously untitled movie is now called Beneath the Storm and will hit theaters on Aug. 1, 2025. Plot details have not yet been shared for the project that is said to involve sharks.

Whitney Peak and Djimon Hounsou co-star in the film from producers Adam McKay and Kevin Messick.

Beneath the Storm will face off against Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation’s The Bad Guys 2, which also opens Aug. 1 — and coincidentally features an anthropomorphic shark among its lead characters. The voice cast for the animated sequel includes Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Awkwafina and Zazie Beetz.

Wirkola is known for helming such films as Dead Snow, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, What Happened to Monday and Violent Night. His irreverent animated feature Spermageddon premiered at the...

Norway really saw Seth Rogen make the most unlikely and inappropriate movie-turned-series with Sausage Party and said, “Hold my lutefisk.”

Last week, Rogen and Amazon Prime Video launched Sausage Party: Foodtopia, the even more crass and heavy-handed social critique sequel series to his 2016 film that many of us thought was a collective hallucination from a combination of food poisoning and overindulgence on dank. As such, Sausage Party: Foodtopia opened with a second enormous food orgy that has many critics and viewers wondering exactly where the series can go from here on its quest to make the most upsetting cartoon porn out of Pixar-esque animation.

The answer, apparently, is in Northern Europe, where a Norwegian animated musical comedy film called — seriously — Spermageddon just found a French distributor following a successful premiere at the annual Annecy Film Festival. In his film, Spermageddon director Tommy Wirkola, whose previous credits include Dead Snow...

Nicolas Cage stars as a scary serial killer with occult ties in Longlegs (Photo Credit –YouTube)

Nicolas Cage’s upcoming horror thriller film Longlegs is generating quite a buzz for its eerie and mysterious vibe. Cage stars in the film in a never-seen-before avatar as a menacing serial killer with an occult connection, who is on the run from the FBI.

As Lee Harker, a new FBI agent, carries on the investigation, sinister evidence is uncovered and the investigator finds a personal link to the serial killer. Here is everything you should know about Longlegs, one of the most anticipated horror flicks of the year.

Longlegs Release Date and Trailer

Longlegs is all set to be released theatrically on Friday, July 12, 2024. The film has a runtime of 1 hour and 41 minutes, so get ready to be spooked for a decent amount of time. Longlegs is distributed by Neon in North America...

Phoebe Dynevor is in talks to star in an untitled shark thriller at Sony Pictures with Tommy Wirkola (“Violent Night”) directing, Variety has confirmed.

While plot details are being kept under wraps, production is set to begin in Australia this summer. Adam McKay and Kevin Messick will produce the shark movie under their Hyperobject Industries banner.

Dynevor is best known for her role as Daphne Bridgerton in the first two seasons of the Netflix series “Bridgerton.” She recently starred opposite Alden Ehrenreich in the 2023 thriller “Fair Play,” which sold to Netflix in a massive $20 million deal following the film’s premiere at Sundance Film Festival.

In late April, Variety exclusively reported that Dynevor and Bella Ramsey star in the new short film “More Flames,” from McKay‘s Yellow Dot Studios and Climate Spring; the short marks the launch of the #FlipTheScript campaign aimed at changing the narrative around the climate crisis.

Besides acting, Taylor Sheridan is well-known for his screenwriting chops. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for writing for the movie Hell or High Water. In addition to this, he has also been nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award. In 2018, he emerged as a creator with the show Yellowstone.

Taylor Sheridan in Sons of Anarchy

The show has been running successfully for five seasons even if critics have not always been kind with their reviews. He also created the prequel series 1883 in 2021. That same year, he also co-created the TV series Mayor of Kingstown. This show has not fared well with critics and the lead actor Jeremy Renner might have hinted at the reason.

Jeremy Renner’s Words Might Have Hinted at the Reason Behind Mayor of Kingstown‘s Low Rotten Tomatoes Rating

Jeremey Renner in a still from the Mayor of Kingstown...

Neon released a cryptic new teaser for an unnamed horror film that had the internet playing guessing games early on Friday. While the studio has yet to confirm what movie it’s for, this teaser, which played out a 9-1-1 call against a Polaroid, is likely for the Nicolas Cage thriller Longlegs. Indeed, the teaser ends with a shot of suspiciously long legs, so…

The film is directed by Oz Perkins, son of Psycho star Anthony Perkins, who previously directed the well-received chillers The Blackout’s Daughter, I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, and Greta and Hansel. The movie stars genre fave Maika Monroe as a young FBI agent on the trail of a serial killer with ties to the occult. Cage not only co-stars in the film but is also producing it, with Blair Underwood and Alicia Witt co-starring. When describing it to John Carpenter...

Sinbad had a stroke in 2020 and underwent multiple surgeries and intensive therapy for his recovery. Sinbad's most recent appearance was in the fourth season of the acclaimed series Atlanta, where he played himself. Despite rumors, Sinbad never starred in a movie called "Shazaam" as a genie, but many people confuse him with former NBA player Shaquille O'Neal's movie Kazaam.

Sinbad is a popular comedian and actor who rose to fame in the mid-1980s and 1990s. Also known by his first name David Atkins, Sinbad was born in 1956 in Benton Harber, Michigan. Currently aged 67 as of November 2023, Sinbad grew to prominence in the 1980s as a stand-up comedian who earned several exclusive HBO comedy specials. He eventually brought his comedic talents into the world of acting, appearing in popular 1980s and 1990s television series such as A Different World (1987 - 1991) and his own series The Sinbad Show (1993 - 1994).

Before...

It’s an interesting month ahead on Hulu, as the streamer rolls out some of the series it’s been keeping in its back pocket for the holiday season.

On December 15, the first season of Such Brave Girls will arrive. The sitcom follows a dysfunctional family – and we mean dysfunctional! – that includes real-life sisters Kat Sadler and Lizzie Davidson. British comedian Sadler has previously written for The News Quiz, Hypothetical, and Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable, but this is her first big TV project. “Everything we joke about in the show is from a place of lived experience,” she told Funny Women. “I wish I could say this is a heart-warming show about overcoming trauma, but that would be a lie. It’s about three toxic, damaged egomaniacs manipulating the world and each other for their own personal gain, vengeance and glory…just like in Little Women.” Sounds good!

Later in the month,...

Make yourself at home for the holidays with Hulu! The streamer is heading into the final month of the year with a wide variety of new and classic movies, series from around the globe, anime subs and dubs, documentaries, and much more to binge your way through your vacation days.

Plus, Hulu is making your travel plans easier, be it domestic with the premiere of the Original documentary “We Live Here: The Midwest” or internationally with final season of Canada’s “Letterkenny” and the United States premiere of the A24 Brit-com “Such Brave Girls.”

Check out The Streamable’s top picks for the month and find out everything coming to Hulu this December!

30-Day Free Trial $7.99+ / month hulu.com

Through Cyber Monday, Get Hulu For Just $0.99/mo. For Next 12 Months.

What are the 5 Best Shows and Movies Coming to Hulu in December 2023? “We Live Here: The Midwest” | Wednesday, Dec. 6

The...

Violent Night hit theaters in December of 2022. It was a surprise hit, grossing a solid $50 million domestically, and another $26 million overseas, on a thrifty $20 million budget. The premise was a “can’t miss” proposition, being about a group of mercenaries that takes a rich family hostage, while Santa Claus (David Harbour) tries to save the day (and believe in Christmas again).Yet, many folks might have missed the movie last year, as by the time it hit Peacock and Blu-ray/DVD, it was January, at which point no one really wants to watch a Christmas movie anymore. With the yuletide season upon us, now’s the perfect time to revisit this holiday action flick.

Now, whenever someone asks me what my favorite Christmas movie is, I have only one answer. Die Hard. The Bruce Willis film has long been at the center of heated debate on it being classified as a holiday film.

For many around the United States, summer break is here at last. To some, that means more time spent camping, playing sports, or just enjoying the great outdoors. For others, it’s time to head inside until the heat breaks and ride out the hottest months of the year while enjoying some A/C.

If you belong to the latter category of person, or if you just love watching free movies, Pluto TV has the announcement of the summer for you. Paramount is bringing its Popcorn Summer Movies promotion back to its free streaming service, which means Pluto TV users will be able to watch hundreds of hit movies on the service at zero cost over the next few months.

Watch Now $0 / month Pluto.TV

Pluto carries more than 350 streaming channels, in addition to its growing library of on-demand films and series. It has hundreds of classic TV episodes from shows...

David Harbour’s unconventional Christmas movie is out now.

Directed by Tommy Wirkola, the “Stranger Things” actor stars as an out-of-sorts Santa Claus who ditches giving gifts and instead binges on alcohol and cold-blooded murder. The movie twists the traditional holiday format and offers a holiday slasher instead.

Read More: David Harbour’s New Holiday Action Flick ‘Violent Night’ Targets 11 Million Opening

“And when I read that script, the first thing I said was, ‘I was born to make this film.’It was just so up my alley, and I knew I could do the tone, the crazy action, the humour and all that stuff,” Wirkola previously said. “But what was really appealing to me was the Christmas movie nature of it. So all these things came together at the right time…”

The director’s tackled genre-bending films like “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters” in the past, putting a twist on the classic tale.

David Harbour brings such verve to his performances that even something as over-the-top as Violent Night brings a smile to your face. The film was a surprise holiday season hit for Universal Studios and now Universal Home Entertainment has given us two digital codes to giveaway to those on the nice list.

To be eligible to win one of these codes, we want to hear your most over-the-top Christmas experience. Did you receive a lump of coal? Find Santa eating the milk and cookies? Find reindeer poop on the roof? Tell us your most amazing story by 11:59 p.m., Wednesday, January 25, 2023. The decision of the ComicMix judges will be final.

From the producers of Nobody and John Wick comes Violent Night, available to own with bonus features on Digital January 20, 2023 and on Blu-ray and DVD on January 24, 2023 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. “The greatest Christmas action movie of all...

Universal City, California, January 13, 2023 – From the producers of Nobody and John Wick comes Violent Night, available to own with bonus features on Digital January 20, 2023 and on Blu-ray and DVD on January 24, 2023 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. “The greatest Christmas action movie of all time” (Cinapse) comes home in a collector’s edition that includes over half an hour of never-before-seen bonus content including deleted and extended scenes, a feature commentary, and behind-the-scenes featurettes delivering more of the movie for your Christmas collection.

When a team of mercenaries breaks into a wealthy family compound taking everyone inside hostage, they are not prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus. David Harbour (Stranger Things) stars as St. Nick in the “wildly entertaining” (Screen Rant) holiday romp, delivering some serious season’s beatings to save the family and the spirit of Christmas.

Directed by Tommy Wirkola, Violent Night also stars Emmy® winner John Leguizamo...

Violent Night has made a surprise drop on digital platforms just ahead of Christmas on Sunday. The holiday action-comedy, which was helmed by Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters director Tommy Wirkola, stars Stranger Things and Black Widow's David Harbour as the real-life Santa Claus. His version of Santa is disaffected and less jolly than he has been portrayed in the past, which is bad news for a group of criminals led by Jimmy Martinez (John Leguizamo), who are committing a home invasion on a wealthy family that is interrupted by Santa's arrival, whereupon he sets out to take down the gang at all costs.

Per ComicBook.com, digital platforms have received an unexpected Christmas present in the form of a surprise release of Violent Night. This digital release comes less than three weeks after the film's December 2 theatrical premiere, allowing fans at home to experience the bloody cheer for themselves...

Only two and half weeks have gone by since the theatrical release of director Tommy Wirkola’s R-rated holiday thriller Violent Night, which has been described as a perfect combination of gore and Christmas spirit (you can read our 8/10 review at This Link) – but as a special gift for the holidays, Universal has already gone ahead and given the film a digital release! You can rent or purchase Violent Night right now on Amazon.

Violent Night has made over 55 million at the global box office.

Scripted by Patrick Casey and Josh Miller (Sonic the Hedgehog), Violent Night shows what happens when a team of elite mercenaries breaks into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone inside hostage. But the team isn’t prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus (Harbour) is on the grounds, and he’s about to show why this Nick is no saint.

Violent Night...

Look, I'm not here to call Andy Williams a liar or anything, but the Christmas season is not always "the most wonderful time of the year." In fact, despite the twinkly lights and readily available peppermint mocha offerings everywhere you look, Christmas can be a straight-up miserable time for a lot of people. The cruel irony is that this is also the time of year when sentimental films take over the airwaves, much to the chagrin of anyone feeling less than holly-jolly. Fortunately, alternative Christmas movies are aplenty, and this year brought the addition of "Violent Night," a soon-to-be Christmas classic, especially for anyone who favors watching a film like "Die Hard" instead of "A Christmas Story" to celebrate the season.

For the uninitiated, "Violent Night" is a gory action film starring "Stranger Things" favorite David Harbour as Santa Claus. After an elite team of mercenaries breaks into a family's...

Photo: 'Violent Night'

In 1988, there was an R-rated action film that took place during Christmas time. That movie is ‘Die Hard’ which starred Bruce Willis as the loose-cannon cop who saves innocent people from a group of terrorists at a skyscraper in Los Angeles. Now in 2022, there is a new R-rated Christmas action film called ‘Violent Night’ which stars David Harbour of the hit show ‘Stranger Things’ as a Santa Claus who brutally massacres bad guys just to save a snobby family. It will astonish audiences with dark humor and gruesome graphic violence. Seeing David Harbour in a Santa Claus suit will sort of remind some audiences of the slasher horror film ‘Silent Night, Deadly Night’ since it features a character who also dresses like Santa Claus and goes on a murdering spree. What makes ‘Violent Night’ different is the fact that it is an action film that goes for thrilling shock values.

Violent Night is one of many tongue-in-cheek genre-twisting movies to involve Christmas. It’s also a movie that went up against big Hollywood releases such as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and turned heads when it still performed better than estimated despite not winning any weekends. However, the director credits other action reimaginings like Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters for opening the gate for an outside-the-box film like this.

The Hollywood Reporter also reveals that a sequel is already in the works. The director, Tommy Wirkola, recently talked with them about what he plans to do for the follow-up.

Of course the writers have talked about it, and I have thrown some ideas out there. We don’t see the North Pole, we don’t see Mrs. Claus and we don’t see the elves. There were also a few ideas that we loved in the script, but we had to...

Like a cyanide-laced sugarplum, Violent Night is a jolly and vicious burst of holiday mayhem. Bloody and crass, yet brimming with Christmas spirit, it’s a 110-minute joke that largely works because of how firmly everyone involved commits to the bit.

David Harbour stars as Santa Claus, first seen drinking his holiday blues away at a London watering hole. Santa’s having a rough Christmas Eve; kids are getting greedier and naughtier every year, and he’s thinking of hanging up the hat. His night doesn’t get any easier when he heads to the United States-based home of a wealthy, heartless matriarch (Beverly D’Angelo), whose family has been taken hostage by a gang of thieves (led by John Leguizamo). While his first instinct is to fly off and finish his route, the presence of an innocent child (Leah Brady) causes Santa to reconsider, call upon the skills he learned...

“Violent Night” is winning praise for its off-kilter take on Christmas, with “Stranger Things” star David Harbour as a battle-hardened warrior Santa who takes on a band of murderous mercenaries on Christmas Eve.

That praise is also being heaped on director Tommy Wirkola, whose previous films include the equally genre-bending “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters”, and in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter he reveals that as soon as he read the script, he knew he was the director to do justice to “Violent Night”.

“And when I read that script, the first thing I said was, ‘I was born to make this film.’It was just so up my alley, and I knew I could do the tone, the crazy action, the humour and all that stuff,” Wirkola said.

Read More: David Harbour’s New Holiday Action Flick ‘Violent Night’ Targets 11 Million Opening

“But what was really appealing...

Turns out Universal Pictures was willing to bet big on “Die Hard”-inspired holiday action movie “Violent Night.”

The R-rated Christmas movie stars David Harbour as Santa, who is willing to prove that he is no saint. Screenwriters Pat Casey and Josh Miller referred to their long-gestating idea for the film as the “‘Die Hard’ Santa thing” that was on the border of being self-funded before they hit it big by penning Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie.

“At one point, we were like, ‘Is there a way to just make this ourselves for 30,000, Kevin Smith style?'” Miller told Vulture. “We usually didn’t even tell people about the idea. We didn’t think a regular production company would like it, let alone a major Hollywood studio. It was preposterous that anyone with money would think this was a good idea.”

Yet within one day of pitching “Violent Night...

Click here to read the full article.

[This story contains spoilers for Violent Night.]

Violent Night director Tommy Wirkola is enjoying his second bite of the studio apple.

In 2013, the Norwegian director made his major studio debut with the Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton-led Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, which went on to gross 226 million on a 50-million budget. But despite the financial win and cult following that later emerged, the film didn’t land with most critics and audiences. From there, Wirkola continued to work overseas and with Netflix until a key Hansel & Gretel collaborator opened the door for his return to studio filmmaking nearly a decade later.

“I had just made a movie last year called The Trip … and I gave an early cut to David Leitch, Kelly McCormick and Guy Danella at 87North because I’d known them from way back,” Wirkola tells The Hollywood Reporter. “David Leitch actually directed second...

The holiday season is a perfect time to revisit beloved Christmas movie classics, many of which are referenced in the new home invasion action film, Violent Night. Directed by Tommy Wirkola, the plot of Violent Night involves a group of mercenaries invading the estate of a wealthy family during their annual holiday party on Christmas Eve to steal 300 million from a large safe. Although the property's security team is no match for the professional criminals, they meet their match when Santa Claus (David Harbour) is stranded by his reindeer and forced to fight back against the intruders.

The brutal premise of Violent Night changes Santa's origins and throws him into a storyline that's a mix of Home Alone and Die Hard, but this is just the beginning of the holiday film connections in Wirkola's violent R-rated action comedy. Along with Violent Night's fitting casting decisions and direct mentions of...

What do you get when you cross Saint Nicholas with John Wick? Well, you get Violent Night, a Christmas-themed action-comedy that stars David Harbour (Stranger Things) as Santa Claus. The film took in 1.1 million in Thursday night previews, which has it on track to become a sleeper hit of the season.

Violent Night follows a team of mercenaries who break into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve and take everyone inside hostage, but the team isn’t prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus is on the grounds, and he’s about to show why this Nick is no saint. In addition to David Harbour, Violent Night also stars John Leguizamo (John Wick), Cam Gigandet (Without Remorse), Alex Hassell (Cowboy Bebop), Alexis Louder (The Tomorrow War), Edi Patterson (The Righteous Gemstones) and Beverly D’Angelo (National Lampoon’s Vacation). Tommy Wirkola (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters) directed from a script by...

Spoiler Warning: This article contains spoilers for Violent Night.

Violent Night makes a pivotal change to Santa Claus' origins to explain his penchant for brutal violence. The film is directed by Norwegian filmmaker Tommy Wirkola, best known for the 2009 Nazi zombie horror-comedy Dead Snow and its 2014 sequel, as well as 2013's Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. Violent Night inserts Santa Claus (David Harbour) into a Die Hard-like situation against a gang of mercenaries, which unveils a violent new twist on the seemingly jolly old elf's backstory.

In one of the quieter scenes of Violent Night, where David Harbour's Santa is nursing wounds and speaking to trapped child Trudy (Leah Brady) on a walkie-talkie, Santa reveals that he was once a fearsome Viking named Nikamund the Red. Santa experiences great regret for this brutal and ruthless period of his life, which likely explains how this version of Santa is a borderline alcoholic,...

I've been raving about Violent Night since I caught its premiere screening at Nycc, so I'm very excited for Daily Dead readers to check out the film that begins playing in theaters tonight! I recently caught up with director Tommy Wirkola, of Dead Snow and Hansel & Gretel fame, who told me all about bringing this hard-r Santa Claus action movie to life!

To hell with “all is calm.”

From 87North, the bare-knuckle producers of Nobody, John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Bullet Train and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw comes a coal-dark holiday action-comedy that says you should always bet on red.

When a team of mercenaries breaks into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone inside hostage, the team isn’t prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus is on the grounds, and he’s about to show why this Nick is no saint.

The...

In director Tommy Wirkola's (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters) R-rated holiday comedy, Violent Night, David Harbour stars as Santa Claus who comes equipped with a Christmas bag of tricks. Produced by John Wick’s David Leitch, Violent Night takes place on Christmas Eve, when a group of mercenaries, led by the aptly-named Scrooge (John Leguizamo), take a wealthy compound hostage. Unfortunately for them, these mercenaries just made Santa’s naughty list. This brutal holiday flick also features National Lampoon’s Beverly D’Angelo, Cam Gigandet, and Edi Patterson.

After three weeks at #1, it’s unlikely that “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” will have much of a problem going four weeks in a row, with only two new lower-key wide releases this week. Read on for Gold Derby’s box office preview.

The widest new release is Universal’s action-comedy “Violent Night,” starring David Harbour from “Stranger Things” as a different take on Santa Claus, this one looking to protect a family from mercenary home invaders.

Although Harbour has become best known for his role as Police Chief Jim Hopper on the Netflix series, he has made a few forays into genre film releases, most notably 2019’s “Hellboy” and Marvel’s 2021 release “Black Widow.” “Hellboy” was seen as a massive bomb, only grossing 21.9 million domestically after a 12 million opening, and that was as good a test as any for Harbour as a leading man.

See 2022 box office hits: Every movie...

Tommy Wirkola (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Dead Snow) is back with the bloody new movie Violent Night, starring David Harbour (“Stranger Things”) as an ass-kicking Santa Claus. The film kicks off the holiday season in theaters on December 2, 2022.

While you wait, check out the full official image gallery below!

Meagan writes in her review for Bd, “Director Tommy Wirkola (Dead Snow) infuses his gore-soaked sense of humor into an amalgamation of familiar holiday fare, ushering a new crowd-pleasing Christmas-set actioner eager to splatter the snow red.”

Violent Night is being compared to Die Hard and centers on Harbour’s Santa Claus rescuing a family that’s been taken hostage, with John Leguizamo playing the villain.

In the film, “A team of elite mercenaries breaks into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone inside hostage. But the team isn’t prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus (Harbour) is on the grounds,...

As hard as you try, it can be really hard not to judge a book by its cover. When it comes to movies, there are certain times when you look at a poster, trailer, or synopsis and just know that it's going to be a bad time for you. If that's what you're looking for, that's fine, but then you can't get mad when you put it on and it's just as bad as you thought it was going to be. However, there is the rare occasion where the film ends up being immensely better than you ever could have imagined. The latest example of that phenomenon is "Violent Night."

The holiday action comedy directed by "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters" filmmaker Tommy Wirkola and written by Pat Casey and Josh Miller of the recent "Sonic the Hedgehog" franchise follows a group of mercenaries as they target a wealthy family on Christmas Eve.

The holiday season is now upon us, and it seems only right that we’re heading into December with a brand new Christmas-themed genre movie arriving in theaters later this week.

I’m of course talking about the David Harbour-starring Violent Night, which features the “Stranger Things” actor as an ass-kicking version of none other than Santa himself.

But that’s not the only new genre movie arriving this week…

Here’s all the new horror headed down the chimney November 28 – December 4, 2022!

This week is all quiet on the horror front until Thursday, December 1, which kicks off with the release of The Harbinger, which has been favorably compared to Nightmare on Elm Street.

In the film from writer/director Andy Mitton, “Monique ventures out of quarantine to visit an old friend who’s plagued by nightmares. She finds herself drawn into a hellish dreamscape where she must face her...

Every year brings the annual rewatches of my holiday favorites and an occasional new one, and it's looking increasingly likely that "Violent Night" may become one of them. I'll happily bawl over the emotional catharsis of "It's a Wonderful Life," but sometimes the reason for the season calls for a horror zombie musical ("Anna and the Apocalypse") or a visit from German folklore ("Krampus"). 2022's "Violent Night" appears to fixate quite nicely in the middle, featuring "Stranger Things" star David Harbour as he doles out some bloody season's beatings in the name of Christmas. Sometimes all you need is a movie that envisions Santa Claus going all John McClane in order to protect a good kid from a group of mercenaries on Christmas Eve. The cherry on top is that this yuletide beatdown comes from director Tommy Wirkola, the filmmaker behind "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters" and the "Dead Snow" series.

Santa becomes an unlikely action hero in Violent Night, the new film from director Tommy Wirkola. David Harbour stars as Santa Claus, an alcoholic and cynical old gift-giver who nonetheless fulfills his duty to deliver presents to children every year. However, when he comes across a hostage situation involving the family of a young girl who still believes in the magic of Christmas (Leah Brady), Santa decides to take on the villains and their nefarious leader, the so-called "Mr. Scrooge," played by John Leguizamo.

Director Tommy Wirkola brings equal parts holiday spirit and bone-crunching action to Violent Night. The film carries a heartfelt reverence for the holiday and for the character of Santa Claus, even when indulging a level of bloodlust appropriate for an R-rated movie from 87North, the production studio behind such hits as Nobody and Bullet Train.

Related: 15 Best Santa Claus Movies

While promoting the release of Violent Night,...

Critics Are Calling Violent Night “An Instant Holiday Classic!” It’S “Packed With Action And Heart.” From Producers Of Nobody And Bullet Train, David Harbour Is Santa Claus In Violent Night. Only In Theaters December 2Nd.

Advance Screening is 7Pm Tuesday, November 29th at AMC Esquire 7 Cine.

The screening will be filled on a first come first served basis, so we encourage you to arrive early. Seats will not be guaranteed. Rated R.

Enter at the link below.

Sweepstakes Link: http://gofobo.com/YAxyo45595

https://www.violentnightmovie.com/

To hell with “all is calm.”

From 87North, the bare-knuckle producers of Nobody, John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Bullet Train and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw comes a holiday action-comedy that says you should always bet on red.

When a team of mercenaries breaks into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone inside hostage, the team isn’t...

While you wait for Violent Night to premiere in theaters on December 2, 2022, a brand new featurette video gives a look inside the spirited holiday action-comedy.

Violent Night stars David Harbour (“Stranger Things”) as an ass-kicking Santa Claus, with John Leguizamo playing the villain. Tommy Wirkola (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Dead Snow) directs.

Watch the brand new featurette below to get a feel for Harbour’s bone-crunching take on the jolly old elf, the violence, and the film’s underlying holiday magic. The actor describes the upcoming action-comedy as Die Hard meets Miracle on 34th Street, which sounds like Violent Night may be poised to become requisite holiday viewing.

In the film, “A team of elite mercenaries breaks into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone inside hostage. But the team isn’t prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus (Harbour) is on the grounds, and he’s...

Violet Night

You Better Watch Out. David Harbour is Santa Claus.

Watch the new trailer for Violent Night, in theaters December 2.

To hell with “all is calm.”

From 87North, the bare-knuckle producers of Nobody, John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Bullet Train and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw comes a coal-dark holiday action-comedy that says you should always bet on red.

When a team of mercenaries breaks into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone inside hostage, the team isn’t prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus is on the grounds, and he’s about to show why this Nick is no saint.

Violet Night

The film also stars Emmy winner John Leguizamo (John Wick), Cam Gigandet (Without Remorse), Alex Hassell (Cowboy Bebop), Alexis Louder (The Tomorrow War), Edi Patterson (The Righteous Gemstones) and Beverly D’Angelo (National Lampoon’s Vacation franchise).

Directed by razor-edged Norwegian director Tommy Wirkola,...

There are few stranger things than David Harbour being a bad Santa.

The “Stranger Things” actor stars as Santa Claus in “Violent Night,” in theaters December 2. But this year, Santa is giving out season’s beatings.

Per the official synopsis for “Violent Night,” when a team of mercenaries breaks into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone inside hostage, the team isn’t prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus (Harbour) is on the grounds, and he’s about to show why this Nick is no saint. The gang is out to steal 300 million in a family’s vault, but Santa coming down the chimney throws a whole lot of coal in their plans…and Santa is ready to hand out grenades for all of his Naughty List members.

John Leguizamo, Cam Gigandet, Alex Hassell, Alexis Louder, Edi Patterson, and Beverly D’Angelo also star.

Tommy Wirkola (“Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters...