Review by Paul J. Baio for MK ULTRA Magazine
Silent Night (2023) (not to be confused with Silent Night 2021 the doomsday dark comedy from Britain, or Silent Night 2012 the Silent Night Deadly Night remake), is the feel good movie of the holiday season! Just kidding, it’s the most dark and depressing vigilante action movie I’ve ever seen. Directed by the great John Woo, Silent Night is his first US movie in twenty years.
Similar to vigilante movies like Death Wish and Death Sentence, Silent Night is the story of a man who loses his son to a drive-by shooting on Xmas Eve and immediately goes after the gang responsible, resulting in (not a spoiler) a gunshot to the throat which renders him speechless. A year later he embarks on a vengeful Xmas Eve of retribution. As much as I liked it, I can’t recommend it. The violence is brutal and unrelenting, and as I mentioned earlier, deeply depressing. But if you’re a John Woo fan, by all means go see it. It’s not his best, but it’s a hell of a lot better than his last US movie, Paycheck (2003).