John Woo is back.
The director of such seminal action classics as The Killer, Hard Boiled and Face/Off is back with Silent Night, which stars Joel Kinnaman (For All Mankind, The Killing) as a man. who vows revenge after he is severely wounded and his son is killed on Christmas Eve. Watch the trailer above, but be warned: it’s not for the faint of heart.
In the film, Kinnaman plays a man who pursues the killers who destroyed his family. One of the most memorable shots in the trailer is when he writes “Kill ‘Em All” on his calendar. The title “Silent Night” refers not only to the classic Christmas song, but also to the fact that Kinnaman’s character lost the ability to speak during the attack. Now he is silent… but deadly. Scott Mescudi and Catalina Sandino Moreno also star.
Silent Night is Woo’s first American film in 20 years. His last American feature film was the underrated 2003 film Paycheck, starring Ben Affleck and based on a story by Philip K. K. He had previously directed Hard Target, Broken Arrow and Mission: Impossible 2 in the States, but his style of work constantly clashed with the more conservative Western view of what an action film should be.
After leaving Hollywood, Woo directed the two-part historical epic Red Cliff and The Hunt, a 2017 film that saw the director return to his action roots (it was eventually released on Netflix in America). His next film is a remake of The Assassin, with Nathalie Emmanuel replacing Chow Yun-Fat (originally intended for Lupita Nyong’o); Production was underway in Paris when the SAG-AFTRA strike began.
What makes Silent Night so exciting is that it truly feels like a return to Woo’s roots – explosive action, deep emotion and bombastic visual excess – while working within the confines of a modern action film. (The film was, after all, produced by Thunder Road’s Basil Iwanyk and John Wick franchise’s Erica Lee.) It’s also a new addition to the holiday action subgenre epitomized by Die Hard, which also includes last year’s film. with the same title “Cruel Night”.
Silent Night will be released in theaters on December 1st. Make it your new Christmas favorite.
