When a group of mercenaries attacks the estate of a wealthy family, Santa Claus must step in to save the day (and Christmas).
“Violent Night” gets top marks for blatantly stealing ideas from “Die Hard,” “Die Hard 2,” “Home Alone,” and a plethora of other Christmas-themed movies. It never tries to hide this fact, so more kudos to the producers for being so upfront about it.
David Harbour stars as Santa Clause, the real Santa, not some poor department store schmuck who gets caught up in all the action. He has been delivering presents to all the nice children of the world for over a thousand years, but he is slowly growing tired of the kids who are becoming increasingly self-indulgent. While good children remain, their numbers are dwindling every year.
When Santa stops by the estate of a wealthy family on Christmas Eve, he unwittingly becomes the lone hero when a group of mercenaries, led by Jimmy Scrooge (John Leguizamo), takes control of the house and the family occupying it. It turns out that the matriarch of the family, Gertrude Lightstone (Beverly D’Angelo), has over $300 million tucked away in the house’s basement, and Jimmy plans on taking it all for himself. But not before Santa can step in and distribute his own personal Christmas cheer!
David Harbour is perfect as Santa. Despite his reputation for inhabiting unstoppable energy and being encouraging and supportive, Harbour’s interpretation is the exact opposite. He despises people in general and has been in such a downward spiral for as long as he can remember; he has no problem taking a piss from his sleigh high above the city, apathetic about where it will make landfall.
Santa would have no problem completely ignoring the hostage situation were it not for a young girl named Trudy (Leah Brady), who reaches out to him via walkie-talkie. Checking his Naughty or Nice list, he sees that she is caring, sensitive, giving, and unselfish, qualities he has seen diminish in children over the years, and because she cares more for her family than herself, Santa gears up and promises to give the bad guys a Christmas they’ll never forget.
John Leguizamo plays the lead antagonist with relish but never hams it up to the point of becoming a caricature. When needed, he can be a mean son of a bitch, as can his henchmen, so Santa responds accordingly. Bad guys get shot, stabbed, beheaded, sliced in half, compacted, fed to a woodchipper, and one even has a Christmas star impaled through his eye, a nod to “Die Hard 2.” Oh yes, “Violent Night” most definitely lives up to its title!
Composer Dominic Lewis intersperses a few musical notes throughout, reminiscent of Michael Kamen’s thrilling “Die Hard” score, while Trudy, having watched “Home Alone” the night before, leaves copious amounts of booby traps for the bad guys that would make Kevin McCallister proud. The relationship between Santa and Trudy elevates “Violent Night” from becoming a clichéd Christmas satire. Director Tommy Wirkola imbues some legitimate heartfelt moments between the two, most of them transpiring over the walkie-talkie, another nod to “Die Hard.” One minute you’re splitting your sides laughing, then you’re rooting for Santa as he lays his opponents out, then you’re shedding a tear as the relationship between Santa and Trudy develops.
“Violent Night” shouldn’t work. The premise alone is enough to cause excessive eye-rolling and unspeakable head-shaking but director Tommy Wirkola and co. take the story seriously enough that it is, to all intents and purposes, plausible, at least within the confines of the story. The fact that it also rips off ideas and narratives from other well-known films and does so unashamedly, tells you all you need to know. At a time of the year when studios, big and small, are releasing titles in consideration for awards season, it is refreshing to find a gem in the rough. If you are looking for a laugh and some good old-fashioned action, “Violent Night” is for you.
Now available on Digital HD and on Blu-ray™ and DVD January 24th
