Violent Night 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Violent Night 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Universal has released the 2022 Christmas film 'Violent Night,' starring David Harbour and John Leguizamo and directed by Tommy Wirkola, to the UHD format. New specifications include 2160p/HDR video and Dolby Atmos audio. Supplements are identical to the original Blu-ray release, which hit the market earlier this calendar year.

Violent Night 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

Universal releases Violent Night to the UHD format with a 2160p/HDR presentation of the film. In both areas of concern the upgrades over the Blu-ray are evident but hold in that rather basic upgrade pattern where the image is bolstered but not transformed in any way. Basic gains to sharpness and color accuracy are present, which are enough to warrant an upgrade for videophiles and super fans of the film but are not necessarily so dramatic that this becomes an instant must-buy for every BD owner.

The textural gains are satisfying, with close-ups of Santa's beard, the leathery jacket, and other skin and character elements thriving in every shot. The improvements to sharpness are clear on a watch but a bit more obvious when conducting a direct A-B comparison. Viewers will be very pleased with the gains at close range. Even medium distance shots enjoy some gain to clarity and sharpness. These improvements are not limited to extreme close-ups. Look at a shot of a large house at the 6:58 mark. The UHD is much more capable of presenting a tactile feel to the bricks even some distance away, and an overall sense of greater sharpness and lifelike definition is apparent. The Blu-ray looks a little flat and blurry in comparison, even if it's "sharp enough" on its own merits. The improvements are not astronomical, but they are certainly enough in the aggregate to make this a healthy upgrade for the film's textural elements.

The standard suite upgrades continue with the film's HDR color grading which offers the usual boosts and gains over the previous Blu-ray's SDR color output. Look at the film's title card at the 4:43 mark. The white "Violent" is brighter and crisper and the red "Night" is deeper and more vivid. The black background is a bit deeper, and more truly black, as well. It's a fine example of the general gains that the image offers in the presentation of blacks, whites, and colors throughout. Christmas reds are really the most obvious beneficiary in terms of bold colors that speak to the contrast of the festive Christmas elements and the violent, bloody content seen throughout the film. But even beyond the red gains are some additionally good holiday colors, like greens, while some of the warm woods in the mansion leap off the screen with superior depth and accuracy. As mentioned, white and black levels are a major beneficiary of the HDR grading, bringing both much closer to ideal, if not right at ideal, than the Blu-ray can achieve. Add that this image appears free of any source shortcomings and encode flubs, and the net result is a pleasing upgrade that clearly beats the Blu-ray but may not be quite so dramatic as to warrant an instant buy at full, or near full, release window price.

Violent Night 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Rather than stick with the preexisting DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack, Universal has released Violent Night to the UHD format with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack. The presentation is stout and satisfying, even if it's only a modest improvement over the 7.1 track. The overall sense of clarity and balance are not radically different, and the definition and placement of sounds are likewise not a far departure one from another, but the added overhead channels do help with overall balance and stage fill. Discrete content is not pouring out the top end speakers with every scene, but the additional fill does help to better immerse the listener into the film. There is some added richness to the musical presentation that brings some holiday tunes to life with improved fidelity and spatial engagement (listen around the 13:45 mark for a fine example) while action elements offer mildly boosted amplification of some of the more intensive audio elements. This is a good track and a nice upgrade, obvious in some ways, much like the video, but not such a radical departure as to make the 7.1 track obsolete not even a year after its release.

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

This UHD release of Violent Night includes the same extras from the previous Blu-ray, which is also bundled in with this set. Below is a list of what's included; please click here for full coverage. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase. This release ships with a slipcover.

• Deleted and Extended Scenes
• Quarrelin' Kringle
• Santa's Helpers: The Making of Violent Night
• Deck the Halls with Brawls
• Audio Commentary

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

Violent Night aims for different and entertaining, and it somewhat succeeds in both areas, but it also can't escape the feeling of derivative moviemaking, even if it portrays Santa as a hero with a sledgehammer. The plot is dull, and the support content doesn't satisfy, especially the characters. Genre fans will probably like it well enough, but this is definitely an example of disposable moviemaking. Universal's UHD offers a solid upgrade over the Blu-ray in terms of the A/V presentation. Supplements are identical across both releases. Fans will find this to be worthwhile upgrade, and newcomers should certainly just go ahead and choose this version, but casual fans should wait for a steep sale before abandoning the very good Blu-ray which is less than a year old.