There’s no better tradition at this time of year than getting the whole family together, cozying up under a nice warm blanket, and enjoying a family flick together. And for those with more grown families, there’s no better time to indulge in something a bit more violent. So, from producer David Leitch’s (“John Wick,” “Bullet Train”) seemingly unending barrage of highly choreographed action films comes something for the holidays in the form of “Violent Night.”
The film, written by Patrick Casey (“Golan the Insatiable,” “Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)”) and Josh Miller (“Golan the Insatiable,” “Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)”) and directed by Tommy Wirkola (“Dead Snow,” “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters”) (who’s no stranger to violent holiday fare), follows Santa Claus, played by David Harbour (“Stranger Things,” “Black Widow”), who decides to help fight off a group of mercenaries lead by “Mr. Scrooge”, played by John Leguizamo (“Romeo + Juliet,” “Ice Age”), who’ve decided to invade the home of a rich family on Christmas Eve.
Admittedly, there isn’t much to the plot of the film itself. It’s a lot of excuses to stage violent action sequences involving Santa letting his rage loose to kill a lot of faceless mercenary bad guys. There are plenty of seasonal and themed kills, including a few gnarly ones involving a snowblower and a candy cane, and it all maintains the same lighthearted semi-silly style of heavily staged violence that helped make “John Wick” a modern action staple.
Harbour is wonderfully fun as an older, jaded St. Nick and his banter with the young Trudy Lightstone, played by Leah Brady in her film debut, is extremely charming and gives the entire movie a big gooey heart at its center. Leah steals virtually every scene she’s in and imbues the film with its biggest secret weapon, more on that in a bit. The rest of the cast, which includes Alex Hassell (“Cowboy Bebop (2021),” “The Red Sea Diving Resort”) as Jason Lightstone, Trudy’s father, Alexis Louder (“Copshop,” “Watchmen (2019)”) as Linda Matthews, Trudy’s mother, Edi Patterson (“The Righteous Gemstones,” “Knives Out”) as Alva Steele-Lightstone, Jason’s perpetually drunk sister, Alexander Elliot (“The Hardy Boys (2020),” “Odd Squad”) as Bertrude, Alva’s idiot influencer son, and Beverly D’Angelo (“Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “American History X”) as Gertrude Lightstone, the matriarch of the family, are all fine, doing exactly what’s needed of them without ever really standing out. Leguizamo is chewing a lot of scenery quite angrily, and the romantic reconciling of Hassell and Louder’s characters is admittedly sweet, but none of it can really be called particularly memorable.
Rather, where things really shine is in the movie’s honest sense of Christmas spirit. It seems silly to point out given the incredibly blood-soaked violence on display, but the movie plays into the tropes about warm heartedness, being kind, and the magic of the holidays in a way that really works. Part of it is the chemistry between Harbour and Brady, but its also the genuine sincerity beneath the surface. It’s a movie that clearly does want to believe in the season, despite all the jabs at entitled kids and skim milk.
Despite this, there is a general feeling that the film is missing something to truly take it above and beyond. Comparing it to other films of this ilk and they all have something that sets them apart: “Atomic Blonde” has the neon-soaked production design, “John Wick” has the obsessive rules and lore, “Nobody” has its insane lead performance. “Violent Night” is a lot of fun and certainly justifies its own existence, but it lacks that central spark to make it something truly memorable.
That being said, it’s still an absolute blast to run through this adventure with a Santa whose suit is so red you can’t see the stab wounds. Harbour is a hoot, Brady is adorable, the action is crunchy and with a seasonal cheer, and it’s a quick adventure all done in one night. Given that, early on, Santa states that one of the presents he has in his sack is “a blu-ray of Die Hard”, it’s a movie clearly aware of what it is and what it wants to do. It’s not a shiny new toy, but a well-worn one that easily gets the job done. 3.5/5
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