“Violent Night” a cheerfully bloody ho-ho hoot that’s also a little sweet

Violent Night (2022)

Like “Die Hard,” “Violent Night” is unquestionably a Christmas movie — and a total blast of bloody good fun. A hostage situation goes down in a McMansion on Christmas Eve, but instead of John McClane, we have Kris Kringle himself saving the day. Combine that home-invasion setup with the amusingly twisted traps of “Home Alone” (which gets its share of shout-outs) and the heartwarming earnestness of “The Christmas Chronicles,” and “Violent Night” is everything it needs to be.


Santa Claus, played with boozy, disgruntled yet lovable relish by David Harbour, is coming to town just as the dysfunctional Lightstone family is having their catered Christmas Eve party. Filthy rich matriarch Gertrude Lightstone (a wonderfully foul-mouthed Beverly D’Angelo) is hosting her adult children and their families. Jason (Alex Hassell) and his wife, Linda (Alexis Louder), are on the rocks, but they come together for the sake of their only child, 7-year-old daughter Trudy (Leah Brady) who still believes in The Man with the Bag. Then there’s Jason’s coal-hearted sister, Alva (hilariously sharp scene-stealer Edi Patterson), who vies for their mother’s attention but never gets it, along with her imbecilic movie-star fiancé Morgan (Cam Gigandet) and obnoxious influencer son Bertrude (Alexander Elliot). Of course, the caterers turn out to be armed mercenaries, taking out Gertrude’s staff and security and then taking the family hostage. Seeking a hefty payday from Gertrude’s vault, the deadly team is then joined by their cheerless leader, Jimmy “Mr. Scrooge” Martinez (John Leguizamo). Besides checking that list twice and digging into expensive brandy after milk and cookies, can Santa bring down the (sledge)hammer on the naughty?


In spite of there already being a great pantheon of impish Bad Santa movies, director Tommy Wirkola (2021’s “The Trip”) delivers exactly what he promises on the gift-wrapped box. This isn’t like tearing open the wrapping paper, expecting to find a hot new toy and instead finding a pair of socks. Aptly named, “Violent Night” is a hard-R, cheerfully violent actioner stuffed with icicle impalements, ornament stabbings, ice skate decapitations, and all sorts of other season-related slayings by the jolly former Viking himself. It’s never easy to merge laughs and hardcore violence, but Wirkola finds just the right sweet spot in tone between dark comedy, sentimentality, and carnage. This very easily could have been a Santy One-Note, and yet, the violence is thrilling and cleverly staged during St. Nick's skull-crushing rescue mission. The drama between the Lightstone family members is pretty perfunctory, but screenwriters Pat Casey & Josh Miller (2022’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 2”) still pack enough spiky interplay between some of them and a handful of the sociopathic, holiday-codenamed looters.


Beyond an inspired turn by the perfectly cast Harbour, the entire cast is game and runs with the heightened material. It’s great to see Beverly D’Angelo in another cozy Christmas setting but in zero-fucks-to-give mode, and for once, the hunky Cam Gigandet gets to be intentionally funny playing a himbo who's called "Jean-Claude Van Dipshit" at one point. John Leguizamo sells most of the holiday puns (there might even be a spin on a certain “Halloween Kills” chant), but he’s just having so much fun as “Mr. Scrooge,” who exists somewhere between Hans Gruber and a Wet Bandit. Even Leah Brady, who pours on the wholesome cutesiness as adorable moppet Trudy, gets in on the booby-trap mayhem, Kevin McCallister-style, in one of the film’s most wince-inducing yet crowd-pleasing set-pieces. 


Not above a vomit-off-the-sleigh gag or a sociopath’s use for a nutcracker collectible, “Violent Night” is merrily blood-soaked, profane, and even a little sweet. It’s definitely not for those with refined taste or audiences who still believe in You Know Who. But with those caveats in mind, you better believe this has enough of a bracing genre kick and much-needed Christmas magic to make both the naughty and nice list of Christmas movie rotations. 


Grade: B +


Universal Pictures is releasing “Violent Night” (101 min.) to theaters on December 2, 2022. 

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