Director: Tommy Wirkola
Writer: Pat Casey
Cast: David Harbour, Beverly D’Angelo, John Leguizamo, Alex Hassell, and Leah Brady.
It’s a cold cynical world, filled with chaos, greed, and selfishness. Even jolly old Saint Nick is having a hard time mustering up the Christmas spirit. With a heavy heart, he decides to make this Christmas his last. During his run, he comes across an expansive estate and as he’s enjoying the snack set out for him a full-scale home invasion ensues and at the center is one of the few nice kids left. With a sprinkle of Christmas magic and a ton of Whoop-Ass, Santa sets off to save one little girl and maybe even Christmas itself.
If you’re looking for a film with the ass-kicking Santa Claus, you’ve come to the right place. If you’re like us you saw the trailer as “Violent Santa” only to see the name is now a carol reference. Either there’s a glitch in the matrix or someone changed the name to “Violent Night” when we enjoying our turkey. No matter the name this film will be a holiday classic. It is by far one of the most unique Christmas movies of all time. It is the bastard child of “Die Hard” and “Miracle on 34th Street” raised by “Krampus” It is a thrilling, hilarious suspenseful piece that was born to be the antidote to the Hallmark channel’s never-ending stream of sugary nonsense. It is a bad film full of bad puns and ridiculous violence but in a good way. Over the years we’ve seen several iterations of bad Santa movies but this one takes the cake. This is the most violent film of the year. The level of gore and archaic violence in this film make “Halloween Ends” look like a rom-com. We’re talking real deadly murders and mayhem at the hands of Mr. Klaus himself. Impalings, stabbings, fist fights, and shootouts are predominant in this gory Christmas tale. This isn’t a story of a Santa gone rogue but instead a wounded man seeking to save one little girl and in the process save himself. Sounds corny but that little bit of warm-fuzzy sentimentality and a Santa suit is the only things that make this a holiday film and not just another action comedy. That being said this also isn’t a children’s film. This is strictly for teens and adults.
Fresh off of his stint as our favorite sheriff in “Stranger Things” David Harbour is our grumbling, miserable, drunken Santa. He’s not a mall Santa or some civilian in a costume, he’s the real deal folks, sleigh and all. He just isn’t the holly jolly Santa we expect this time of year. He’s a tired old man abusing alcohol and hating his job. Although he exhibits some Grinch-like qualities, most of that is based on the state of humanity as a whole. He’s sick of the greed and ready to hang it all up for good. When he finds himself in the middle of a heist and hostage situation his first instinct is to leave but deep down he’s a big old softy and can’t resist coming to the rescue of adorable little Trudy who still believes in Christmas magic. Coming to her aid comes at a price as he is shot at, stabbed punched, and bludgeoned all throughout this mad caper. Though he gets pretty banged up along the way Santa also serves up some incredible maneuvers including impaling a henchman on an icicle and electrocuting another with a star in the eye socket. Aggressively savage, but somehow heartwarming and funny Violent Night is one for the ages and worth a peek if you can stomach it.
Violent Night hits theaters, on December 2, 2022! Merry X-Mas!