‘Violent Night’: a Christmas movie filled with gore and cheer

Released in December for the holiday season, “Violent Night” pits David Harbour, as Santa, against a dangerous band of mercenaries with code names such as Candy Cane, Gingerbread, Krampus, and Mr. Scrooge – played by John Leguizamo – who have invaded the family compound of Gertrude Lightstone.

This movie mixes the comedic violence of “Die Hard” and the child endangerment of “Home Alone” with generous sprinkles of Christmas spirit from movies that include “Elf,” “The Santa Claus,” and “Miracle On 34th Street”. Harbour plays a bitter, disillusioned version of Captain Presents, who is fed up with the greed and entitlement of the kids who make it to his “Nice List,” groaning as he delivers video games and money, and stopping for several drinks along his route. (Note: spoilers follow, here.)

Santa stops at the Lightstone Mansion to indulge in some homemade cookies left by Trudy, the youngest and most innocent of the Lightstones, as well as some of Gertrude’s alcohol. While he is relaxing, the catering staff executes the security team and reveal themselves as mercenaries who intend to break into a vault and steal $3 million. Santa’s reindeer flee the scene when bullets start flying, and he is forced to defend himself.

Trudy quickly becomes Santa’s little helper using a walkie-talkie, similar to the way Reginald VelJohnson communicated with Bruce Willis while he was taking out thugs in Nakatomi Plaza. She comes equipped with some impressive skills of her own, having watched Kevin McCallister defend his family home from intruders just the day before. She has all the catchphrases down and sets up vicious booby traps.

Harbour plays a version of Santa based on a Viking warrior who says witty tough guy things and sustains some serious injuries as he fights off the intruders. Right away, he’s dealt a deep stab wound in his lower abdomen. Sterilizing a sewing needle with a Santa candle, while biting down on a wooden Santa ornament, he stitches himself up with tinsel, then applies wrapping paper gauzes and a ribbon with a bow before drinking a little more and taking a nap.

Trudy and Santa do a great job of adding real emotional content into a movie that would otherwise be mostly blunt violence and holiday puns. The rest of the Lightstones appear to be irredeemably selfish compared to Trudy, but eventually come together in a way that makes their horrible behavior seem superficial and somehow less important.

Santa kills about 20 mercenaries before finishing their leader, Mr. Scrooge, in a scene that could be considered excessive in a “Mortal Kombat” game, but a member of the group survives and ambushes him, causing him fatal injuries. Trudy encourages her family not to give up hope, and the film’s writers might have let him die in this version of the story. But her mom tells her that she believes this is really Santa Claus, and the rest of the family follows suit, creating just enough Christmas magic to revive Santa. His reindeer return after the chaos has subsided and so he heads out to complete his primary mission.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who believes Die Hard is a Christmas movie – but I would probably wait a while before I watch it with my kids. It is in truth more than just an action movie, yet the heartwarming moments that make you believe in the spirit of Christmas come in scenes where characters are either drunk or soaked in blood, which is not everyone’s preference.

Leguizamo is more fun to watch as a goofy support character than as lead villain, but his humor and extensive martial arts background make him an entertaining foil. Harbour’s character is not much different from his recent roles in “Stranger Things” or “Black Widow,” both showing strength, humility, and tenderness, in an oddly shaped and comforting package. I personally enjoyed both those roles and am not offended by seeing a third version of the same thing.

Ultimately, Violent Santa may not have the same lasting popularity as the movies it is modeled after, but I definitely enjoyed it.