Director: Tommy Wirkola
Writers: Pat Casey, Josh Miller
Stars: David Harbour, John Leguizamo, Alex Hassell
Synopsis: When a group of mercenaries attack the estate of a wealthy family, Santa Claus must step in to save the day (and Christmas).
For those of us who are more “Humbug” than “Ho Ho Ho” about the Christmas season, Violent Night is a nice dose of holiday sneer. The film derides the commercialization, greed, and tackiness of the non-religious side of the holiday. At the start, Santa’s in a bad way. He’s lost his oomph and joie de tinsel. It’s been 1100 years since he started the job and the gifts he imparts are dull distractions that no one truly appreciates. That is until one little girl, held hostage by brutal mercenaries, brings back the magic of belief.
This film has that delicate balance in place. It’s gory, violent, disgusting, and also has the core of what a Christmas film should be. Writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller recognize that the season has been given real magic. It’s that feeling that on Christmas morning you may just get that thing you told no one about, that you held in your heart and it makes you feel like there really is a kind man flying around who knows you better than you know yourself. In the quiet moments between the mayhem, there is a nice, sweetness. The sweetness is a bit more practical. It makes it far more engaging than a lot of Christmas media sweetness with easy answers and solutions.
That sweetness is due in large part to David Harbour. He’s charming and gruff in a perfect mixture. It seems if you pair him with an adorable child, his powers only grow stronger. The conversations between Santa ( Harbour) and Trudy (Leah Brady) make the movie more palatable. Harbour has a spark about him, a believability and strength to his convictions. Even through the silly lines and puns, he makes everything so much more palatable with his dedication to the bit. One might even give him a round of a-claus for his big fat efforts.
Without Harbour in the lead, this all would have fallen very flat. The plot is just O.K., the hostages, with few exceptions, are completely unlikable, and the action is what we’ve seen in most action films of the past decade or so. Director Tommy Wirkola is playing from the same bag of toys we’ve seen time and again. Though, if you’re a gore averse viewer, the majority of Santa’s fight with multiple baddies takes place in a darkened shed, so the splatter is black and mercifully over quickly. The film also brilliantly eschews multiple Die Hard references and goes hard core on how incredibly horrific the pranks in Home Alone could be. It’s a very nice touch as a set piece.
Did we need a shallow dive into a deeper, new lore about Santa? No. Do we need the inevitable sequel with Valkyrie Mrs. Claus? Probably not, but it wouldn’t be a bad thing if we got it. Did we need shirtless Santa with his well sculpted dad bod with his runic and Celtic tattoos? Absolutely. For those of us who appreciate such things it was the best Christmas gift of all. Did we need Violent Night‘s entry into the Christmas canon? Yes.
Violent Night is like all Christmas films. It’s a bit excessive, quite magical, and will make you laugh in spite of yourself. It’s the Christmas action film we’ve all been pretending Die Hard is. It’s a film that will make your heart grow three sizes and also gag at one or two creative and gruesome deaths. Violent Night is one to add to the holiday rotation, but maybe only after not another creature is stirring.
Grade: C
