Violent Night Review: Santa Slays In This Soon-To-Be Christmas Classic
As hard as you try, it can be really hard not to judge a book by its cover. When it comes to movies, there are certain times when you look at a poster, trailer, or synopsis and just know that it's going to be a bad time for you. If that's what you're looking for, that's fine, but then you can't get mad when you put it on and it's just as bad as you thought it was going to be. However, there is the rare occasion where the film ends up being immensely better than you ever could have imagined. The latest example of that phenomenon is "Violent Night."
The holiday action comedy directed by "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters" filmmaker Tommy Wirkola and written by Pat Casey and Josh Miller of the recent "Sonic the Hedgehog" franchise follows a group of mercenaries as they target a wealthy family on Christmas Eve. But just when they thought that they had their whole operation planned down to the minute, they encounter an unexpected variable: Santa Claus making his annual visit at the exact same time.
Admittedly, I was ready to write off this movie as frivolous, c-list fare. But as a cappella Christmas carols filled the New York Comic Con hall and volunteers passed out "bloody" Santa hats ahead of the world premiere screening, it was hard not to get in the holiday spirit and stay there as the movie started and David Harbour's holly, jolly visage whaled on bad guys for nearly two hours. Although, once you unwrap the package of brutality and violence, you'll find a heart-warming tale about family and the real meaning of Christmas. I know that it's hard to believe, but I'll go down the list of why "Violent Night" is naughty and nice.
Good, for goodness sake
The best way to describe this movie is that it's "Elf" meets "John Wick," with a small dash of "Bad Santa." Part of what makes that formula work is David Harbour. The "Hellboy" and "Stranger Things" star is picture-perfect as Santa. His Saint Nick is jaded and worn down, but still very sweet and dedicated to those that still believe. He plays this all extremely earnestly, so it's easy to believe that he's the real deal. And in addition to the emotional side of the character, he handles the physicality well as he's already an imposing figure to begin with. But it's when Harbour has to combine the two that he really shines. It's like he was made to play this role.
Harbour isn't the only performer to stand out. John Leguizamo and Beverly D'Angelo also deliver excellent performances as pretty terrible people. Leguizamo has dabbled in douchebags from time to time in his career, so he has no problem pulling off the surly Mr. Scrooge, but it's hard to imagine D'Angelo as anything other than the Griswold family matriarch from the National Lampoon's "Vacation" movies. Obviously, she's played many other roles in her career, but at this time of year, many only see her as sweet Ellen Griswold. This time, she plays a very different kind of mother. One that demands respect (through fear) from both her family and her corporation. While the whole cast does well in their roles, these three really show off why they've earned their top-billing spots.
Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal
In addition to paying homage to "Christmas Vacation" with the inclusion of D'Angelo, "Violent Night" also makes significant reference to "Home Alone." Leah Brady's Trudy Lightstone finds herself in a similar situation to Kevin McCallister where bad people are after her. Having seen the movie, she utilizes similar booby traps to take down her pursuers. But instead of Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern's pain being placed for laughs, Trudy's invaders meet much more realistic and gruesome fates.
Adding more to the realism of this world, the writers included a backstory for Santa that sees him as a Norse warrior in a past life. This raises a lot of questions, but not any that really affect the enjoyment of the unfiltered action. After all, it did give way for some excellent scenes with Santa's weapon of choice. If there were any areas of "Violent Night" that could be considered weak, an argument could be made for either of those elements because they did almost go on for too long. However, this is a really nitpicky critique. The story didn't need to rely on adding its own twist on previously established holiday lore because so much of the original storytelling was so engaging already that anything else was almost unnecessary. But did they add to the fun? For sure, especially for fans of over-the-top, elaborate action sequences with ultraviolence.
And to all a good night
Overall, "Violent Night" is like the kind of off-the-wall movie that you and your friends make up after a night of action movies and one too many eggnogs. But considering that producer David Leitch of "John Wick," "Atomic Blonde," and "Deadpool 2" fame is attached to the project, that insanity gets turned way, way up. And yet, the movie unexpectedly has a ton of heart that's guaranteed to refuel your Christmas spirit this year.
This movie is sure to make even the most curmudgeonly Grinch grow their heart at least three sizes after watching it, particularly if they enjoy nonstop action and excessive savagery that you can (or should) only get on the silver screen. Seriously, some of the stuff that happens to these home invaders is really messed up, but they are the bad guys, so they have it coming. Despite that, this joyful film still manages to capture the essence of Christmas and deserves to be added to the regular holiday movie rotation (for the older members of the family) alongside "Miracle on 34th Street," "Batman Returns," or "Die Hard." Like the chaos probably caused when Grandma got ran over by a reindeer, it's hard to turn away from the madness.
/Film Rating: 8 out of 10