VIOLENT NIGHT

From the moment I saw the trailer for Violent Night, I knew I had to see it as soon as it hit the theaters. What’s not to love about a world-weary Santa Claus getting his excessive drink on in a seedy bar and then going all “you’ve been naughty” on a murderous army of mercenaries? My expectations were high, though my initial reaction was somewhat muted. On reflection, my estimation of the movie rose. Let’s talk about it after I give you the Internet Movie Database summary of the film:

When a group of mercenaries attack the estate of a wealthy family, Santa Claus must step in to save the day (and Christmas).

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I blame myself for my initial disappointment with Violent Night. There were only two other people in the theater when I watched the film, which, actually, is what I prefer in these months of ongoing pandemic. But I had slept poorly the night before, was experiencing considerable pain in my bad knee and wasn’t in the optimal frame of mind for watching a movie that never quite figured out what kind of movie it wanted to be. That opinion is one I stand by, thought it doesn’t prevent my final conclusion that Violent Night is a pretty good movie after all.

The movie opens in the aforementioned seedy bar. We get a contrast between the real Santa, weary after centuries of being Santa and sad at the materialistic beast Christmas has become, and a “fake’ Santa who enjoys the part-time gig. Considerable kudos must go to David Harbour for his magnificent performances as Santa Claus and the brutal Viking warrior who became Santa Claus. He’s the focus of the movie, the character we want to see recapture his love of the holiday. Harbour likely won’t get nominated for any awards for his work here, but he should.

The obscenely wealthy Lightstone family could be the poster child for dysfunction. Matriarch Gertrude is a frigid creature who plays her children, their spouses and her grandchildren like pieces on a chessboard. Beverly D'Angelo is excellent in this role.

Oldest son Jason is Gertrude’s favorite; He has reunited with his estranged wife Linda to give their daughter Trudy a Christmas with both of them. Jason is desperate to get Linda back and, as the film progresses, we see how desperate he is. He and Linda give Trudy an early gift: a walkie-talkie they tell her communicates directly with Santa>

Daughter Alva comes to the family manor with her son Bert and her minor movie star boyfriend. She wants to be chosen as CEO of the family business over Jason.

The villains? Led by “Scrooge” (John Leguizamo), they want to grab the $300 million in illicit cash kept in the family vault and are not remotely queasy about killing a great many members of the house guards and staff in the process.

Two things screw up Scrooge’s plans. Santa has come to the house and stumbles upon one of Scrooge’s small army. He doesn’t want to get involved but circumstances change his mind. Notably, that Trudy is on his nice list.

More vexing to Scrooge is that the $300 million isn’t in the vault. It’s been moved and not even Gertrude knows where it is. That kicks up the threat level for the family considerably.

Santa takes on the bad guys and it’s bloody. The Lightstone family starts showing some wee bit of concern for each other and take out some of the villains themselves. Even Trudy takes out a couple of killers. The Trudy kills made me uncomfortable; her character was too sweet and too young to be slaughtering even the baddest of the bad guys.

Violent Night tried to be a bit Die Hard and a bit Home Alone, but the comedy was an uneasy partner of the extreme violence. But I’ll give the movie credit for giving us an interesting Santa and more than the usual dysfunctional family. There were several surprises I didn’t see coming, which also earns props from me. The ending was mostly satisfying. When I looked back at the movie, I upgraded my opinion of it.

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IMDb gave Violent Night a 7.0 rating, which I think is close to the mark. Rotten Tomatoes’s Tomatometer was 73% with an audience score of 88%. My rating for this Christmas movie - and it is a Christmas movie - would be four out of five stars. As such, I recommend it to all my readers who have watched all the Hallmark movies they could stand for this holiday season.

I may not succeed, but I’m going to try to write another Christmas movie review or two before Christmas. In any case, I hope to stay safe and well during the harsh weather coming our way and that you have the merriest of Christmases or whatever holidays you celebrate with your loved ones.
   
© 2022 Tony Isabella