Violent Night Filmmakers Didn't Want The Movie's Henchmen To Be Left Out In The Cold [Exclusive]
Most holiday seasons, we get some sort of theatrically-released Christmas movie that aims to not only succeed in the moment, but become something that can endure annually for years to come. It feels like it's been a while since we've had a bonafide holiday classic, but "Violent Night" feels like it could turn the tide. What's not to love about the idea of "Stranger Things" favorite David Harbour as an R-rated Santa Claus who isn't afraid to take out some bad guys? Speaking of those bad guys, it's not just going to be one man at the top with nameless, faceless henchmen. All of the bad guys are going to have something to do here.
This was important to director Tommy Wirkola, the man responsible for bringing the film to life. /Film's own Bill Bria recently spoke to the filmmaker about his latest effort, and the subject of the henchmen came up. Not to spoil it, but all of the side characters have motivations, arcs, and nice little moments that make them feel like complete characters. According to Wirkola, this was all by design:
"I feel like action movies in the '80s and '90s, every character had a great moment or a moment to shine and a great line, or a henchman had a great — nowadays, I feel a lot of the movies have about three or four main characters and that's it. The rest are just thrown away, in a way. I always love movies where you have tiny arcs for side characters or a great moment for the henchmen or a great scene. So we really actually put a lot of thought in that and try to make it feel like those movies that we all loved growing up."
A throwback to a bygone era
There is very much something to be said about the '80s and '90s, in terms of action movies, where smaller characters could leave a bigger impact. Think about "Die Hard," for example, where all of Hans Gruber's henchmen have some kind of identity. I personally always think of Marco, who shouts at John McClane while shooting at him atop a table, "You are done! No more table! Where are you going pal?!" before adding "Next time you have a chance to kill someone, don't hesitate".Then Bruce Willis unloads a clip into him from underneath the table before adding, "Thanks for the advice." Perfection.
That's just one example but it's very nice to hear Tommy Wirkola thinking in those terms, especially in a movie like "Violent Night." It's easy to see how a studio and a director could get a little comfortable with a premise like this and fall back on "It sells itself." But there was real thought put into who was on screen well beyond Santa and John Leguizamo's baddie, who is leading the charge as the man who is trying to ruin Christmas.
The cast also includes Cam Gigandet ("Without Remorse"), Alex Hassell ("Cowboy Bebop"), Alexis Louder ("The Tomorrow War"), Edi Patterson ("The Righteous Gemstones"), and Beverly D'Angelo ("Vacation"). Pat Casey and Josh Miller ("Sonic the Hedgehog") penned the screenplay.
"Violent Night" hits theaters on December 2, 2022.
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 (David Harbour, Black Widow, Stranger Things series) is on the grounds, and he's about to show why this Nick is no saint.