Violent Night: A Bloody, Boozy Holiday Hammer To The Head
When a team of mercenaries breaks into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone inside hostage, the team isn't prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus. He’s the only one who can save the day, and he's about to show why this Nick is no saint.
Tommy Wirkola’s latest effort, Violent Night, written by the screenwriting team behind the Sonic The Hedgehog feature films, Pat Casey & Josh Miller, conjures up the spirit of hard-edged Christmas films from the 1990s. Essentially a mash-up of Die Hard 2 and Home Alone, this blood-soaked, alcohol-fueled hurrah for the holidays pits a grizzled and drunken Santa Claus against a group of greedy mercenaries who are holding a wealthy family hostage on Christmas Eve. It’s admittedly nothing new, but it manages to be entertaining and fun enough, serving up all the gory violence its title implies and delivering a satisfying sledgehammer of holiday cheer straight to the dome.
David Harbour slays in more than one way as the bitter and boozy Viking warrior turned Santa (yeah, you read that right). Running low on Christmas spirit and worn down by the increasingly materialistic nature of the holidays, the only thing keeping this once-jolly Saint Nick going is distilled spirits and Christmas cookies. His annual delivery of toys turns into a bloody blunder when his sleigh of reindeer leave him abandoned in a house full of well-armed mercenaries led by John Leguizamo’s Jimmy "Mr. Scrooge" Martinez.
Looking to make it snow with a big score this holiday season, Mr. Scrooge and his colorful gang of dimwitted henchmen hold Gertrude Lightstone, a foul-mouthed millionaire played by National Lampoon’s Vacation’s Beverly D'Angelo, and the rest of her selfish and self-absorbed family hostage as they attempt to gain access to the 300 million dollars secured by her home vault. Amidst the heist, Jason Lightstone (Alex Hassell) attempts to reconnect with his estranged wife, Linda (Alexis Louder), and daughter, Trudy (Leah Brady), while also putting up with his narcissistic sister, Alva (Edi Patterson), and her equally vain and materialistic son and boyfriend.
As you can imagine, all is not calm on this Christmas Eve, whose silence is shattered by gunfire and brightened by bloodshed. Not to mention a fair bit of squabbling from the family and the henchmen. With all its moving parts, it takes awhile for things to be set up and settle into place, which makes Violent Night’s first half feel a bit sluggish. There’s some bad dialogue sprinkled throughout and some moments of wobbly acting (particularly from Leguizamo in the first half), but once the film kicks into bloodthirsty gear, it finds sure footing, becoming altogether more cohesive and delightfully amusing.
Despite some of the film’s slow and doughy moments, David Harbour remains solidly consistent and makes for a great Santa. He was absolutely the right actor for the part, and he completely steals the show here. He channels a bit of Hellboy when he gives into his sledgehammer blows of holiday vengeance, but he also brings the necessary warmth to the role as well to make the film’s emotional moments connect with almost the same force as the violence. He brings a wonderful sense of physicality to the film’s fight sequences, which hilariously weaponize Christmas decorations, and he also has a great comedic ability that is on full display here.
The film’s Viking backstory (depicted in very Northman-esque flashbacks) is admittedly pretty cool, but it’s also massively undercooked. It doesn’t explore this to the fullest, and it leaves a fundamental question unanswered as to how a Viking warrior became Santa. Perhaps this, as well as Santa’s relationship with Mrs. Claus, will be something left for a sequel (which we’d gladly indulge in), but it would have been nice to get a bit more here. Overall though, Violent Night’s cheeky self-awareness, frivolity, and gory mayhem make for quite the entertaining holiday romp. We’ll definitely be taking this sleigh ride again and adding it into the ever-growing holiday rotation.
Recommendation: If you’re looking for something to spike this year’s eggnog, look no further than Violent Night. The film’s gory antics and David Harbour’s terrific performance are reason enough to stuff this holiday flick into your stocking. It’s also a great film to see with a theater crowd for the collective experience.
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!