Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Silent Night 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 6, 2024

Note: Lionsgate has partnered with Wal-Mart to offer a retailer exclusive 4K release of Silent Night in collectible SteelBook packaging.

A lot of hard charging action thrillers often feel like they stuff the "talky bits" in only to get things to the next big set piece, and in that regard, Silent Night needs to be commended for its economy, since it more or less eliminates traditional dialogue. That's the "big" conceit of this John Woo film, which has a lot of Woo's trademark flourishes in the gunfire and fisticuffs departments, and which actually manages to convey its plot mechanics rather artfully without the aid of typical things like, you know, characters speaking to each other and/or less welcome things like ostensible info dumps. Woo has always been a viscerally visual director, and those proclivities help to get Silent Night across a perceived finish line, but the film never quite manages to escape the feeling that it's warmed over Woo, despite what I'm pretty sure some will feel is the "gimmick" of no dialogue.

The story begins in medias res with a panicked man later identified as Brian Godlock (Joel Kinnaman) engaged in some kind of frantic chase through a number of back alleys, evidently having something to do with two cars engaged in a fierce gunfight. It later is revealed that a gang war in Brian's neighborhood has claimed the life of the little boy belonging to Brian and his wife Saya (Catalina Sandino Moreno), as the three played in their front yard on Christmas Eve. Brian's attempts to catch up to the perpetrators ends up with him being shot in the throat by gang leader Playa (Harold Torres), who leaves Brian for dead. Brian of course survives, but is no longer able to speak, hence the underlying premise of the film's lack of dialogue. The rest of the tale involves Brian, increasingly isolated from Saya, planning to avenge his son's death.

While this revenge scenario obviously will echo any number of other films, one of the passingly interesting things is that Brian does not have a "particular set of skills", and despite some interstitial training, still makes any number of patently unwise decisions in his quest to wreak havoc on the gang members who killed his son. This "amateur" element actually adds some angst to a couple of showdowns, where Brian, to quote an old watch ad, takes a licking but keeps on ticking. A sidebar detective named Vassel (Scott Mescudi) hangs around the edges of the story, but expectedly is on hand for the climactic showdown between Brian and Playa.

There's an undeniable melancholy suffusing this story, and really how there not be considering it focuses on a family torn asunder by the senseless death of their child, and then the further fraying of the relationship between the husband and wife after that tragedy. In that regard, the whole "no dialogue" aspect kind of seems unnecessary, almost like a marketing strategy in search of a proper cinematic vehicle.

Silent Night 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc included in this package.

Silent Night is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 2.00:1. The closing credits offer an Alexa logo, but as of the writing of this review the IMDb isn't listing a resolution for the DI, though that said, having now watched the film in both 1080 and 2160, my hunch is this had a 4K DI. Fine detail is improved from already excellent levels in the 1080 version, something that's noticeable from the get go in "mundane" items like the texture of the sweater Brian is wearing, as well as some other aspects like crags and crevices in Brian's face. Because of the uptick in fine detail levels, the often gruesome elements I mentioned in the review of the 1080 version are only increased here, enough so that more squeamish types might be best forewarned at the seeming reality of any number of inflicted wounds, as well as the pretty graphic scenes of Brian under surgeon's knife after he's been shot. There's almost a Peckinpah- esque array of exploding blood droplets in both shooting and even knifing scenes. Some of these sequences are kind of grittily graded toward slate grays and blues, but the reds of the blood still pop grotesquely. Contrasted against the more violent moments are several more golden hued sequences documenting a happier time for Brian and Saya and their little boy. Some interior moments in the wake of the tragedy have an almost sepia tone, but despite all of these grading choices (sometimes rather smartly in tandem with the palette of sets and costumes), fine detail remains commendably intact. All of these grading choices have some kind of interesting new highlights courtesy of HDR and/or Dolby Vision, but some of the most noticeable changes to the palette are arguably in some of the less aggressively graded material, as in the very opening sequence, where that aforementioned sweater Brian is wearing has more of a rust/crimson tone than in the 1080 version. HDR/Dolby Vision aid in revealing at least a bit more shadow detail at times as well. This is another 4K offering where digital grain is less subliminal than in the 1080 version, and it does add a somewhat grayish, gritty look to more brightly lit moments in particular, though to my eyes it doesn't always look organic.

Silent Night 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Silent Night offers a rather interestingly designed Dolby Atmos track, one that relies on, yes, actual understandable words at least now and again courtesy of some background chatter on police radios and the like, but which is otherwise completely reliant on sound effects and Marco Beltrami's score. The surplus of unbelievable stunt and action work offers some really impressive immersion, with some whipsaw effects that almost boomerang around the surround channels. Beltrami is on hand in the making of supplement and kind of interestingly discusses how scoring a movie with ostensibly no dialogue was a different kind of challenge, but his score is effective and is nicely dispersed around the soundstage. Somewhat hilariously given the film's conceit, there are optional English and Spanish subtitles available for those aforementioned background moments.

Silent Night 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Both the 1080 and 2160 discs in this package offer the same slate of supplements:

• Actions Speak Louder Than Words (HD; 16:50) is a decent EPK where people actually talk!


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:21)

The SteelBook packaging is nicely designed, and offers a kind of ironic "twist" on traditional Christmas colors with shades of red (almost purple) and green on the cover, with the front panel showing Brian holding a gun and the back panel depicting the gang fight in cars that begins the film. The interior panels are kind of an amorphous green, without any clear depictions of anything. A mylar O-ring surrounds the illustration of Brian in a kind of green halo, with production credits on the back. 1080 and digital copies are included (my copy actually did not have a digital copy insert, but the back cover advertises one, so I'm assuming it was just a packaging error).

Silent Night 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's a fair amount of style on hand in Silent Night, and John Woo fans in particular might want to check this one out for those flourishes. The incredible action sequences and Woo's typically fluid camera might be enough to recommend this outing to that particular demographic at least. But the film is even more ludicrous than any number of other revenge thrillers, and the whole "no dialogue" conceit may well strike some as relatively needless. The making of EPK gets into the (for Woo) micro-budgeted and extremely fast shoot aspects of the production, which may play into this film's somewhat haphazard tone, which veers from rage to depressive sadness at the turn of a welder's mask. Technical merits are first rate for anyone who may be considering making a purchase, and I'd personally recommend those interested to opt for this 4K UHD version over the 1080 version, especially since it also includes the 1080 version.