Violent Night

Filmmaker Tommy Wirkola is best known for making high concept genre films that often dabble in the ridiculous. This is the director who has given us two Nazi zombie movies, a film about a witch-hunting Hansel and Gretel, and a futuristic thriller about a set of septuplets played by Noomi Rapace. His latest, a gruesomely violent Christmas film starring the jolly man himself, continues the Norwegian filmmaker’s brand of infectiously fun genre pictures.

We open on an English pub on Christmas Eve. Drunkenly slumped over is none other than Saint Nicholas, himself, Santa Clause (David Harbour). Fed up with the commercialization of the holiday, with kids wanting less toys and more cash and video games, Santa has grown cynical. While making the rounds on Christmas Eve, guzzling liquor alongside left out milk and cookies, he finds himself in a giant Connecticut mansion in John MacLaine territory as the family in the mansion is being held hostage by armed thieves. His reindeer leave him behind and now Santa is the last hope to save the day and restore Christmas cheer for one little girl in the process.

Tommy Wirkola has made big budget genre films in the past, his Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters grossed well over $200 million despite mixed critical reception, but here the Norwegian filmmaker crafts what feels like his swing at an old-school action film from the 70’s and 80’s. It’s apparent early on there are no pretensions here, as is the case with most of Wirkola’s films.

The director does make the audience wait a good while before Harbour’s Kris Kringle begins disposing of baddies, but the script, written by  Sonic the Hedgehog scribes Pat Casey and Josh Miller, is consistently witty enough with plenty of the set up dedicated to humorously riffing on the worst kinds greedy souls, those who make on Santa’s naughty list. Continuing in the footsteps of Glass Onion, The Menu and Triangle of Sadness, Violent Night is very much a satire on foolishness of wealthy elites.

The game cast relishes in making some of the most amusingly snobbish a-holes you’ve seen in some time. Beverly D’Angelo is an inspired casting choice as the cunning matriarch to the powerful Lightstone family. Cam Gigandet (Twilight) and Edi Patterson (HBO’s The Righteous Gemstone’s) are notably hilarious as D’Angelo’s gold-digging daughter and her failed actor boyfriend. Leah Brady is warm and heartfelt as young Trudy, who reaches out to Santa via walkie talkie — ala Die Hard — for help. Copshop breakout Alexis Louder and Alex Hassell (The Tragedy of Macbeth) are both strong of Trudy’s parents, also held hostage.

This is first and foremost a star vehicle for the always dependable David Harbour and there’s never a moment where you don’t believe him as the real Santa. The character has the boozy, cynical edge of Billy Bob Thornton’s Bad Santa, but has the charm and tenacity of classic action heroes. Harbour is fully committing to the role, giving a rather rich performance that doesn’t ever wink ironically.

Produced by 87North, the folks behind the John Wick films, the action is unsurprisingly gritty and vibrantly filmed. Channeling the likes of John McTiernan, Joe Dante, and yes, even Chris Columbus and John Hughes, Wirkola stages some clean displays of top-notch stuntwork. The filmmaker has always had a great sense for gore gags — his Dead Snow 2 saw a nazi zombie doctor stick a plunger in the stump of a zombie’s severed leg — and he finds some more Yuletide inspirations here. There’s a gnarly death with a snow blower, a chimney and Harbour does some nasty damage with a sledgehammer. The crunchy sound mix adds an extra layer to the unflinching carnage, making even more effective. This is by no means a terribly original film and you can see its influences whenever the film isn’t specifically referencing them. With that, there is an equally demented and hilarious twist on the already slightly demented Home Alone.

Wirkola attempts to have his cake and eat it too with Violent Night taking the piss out of the holiday season while also firmly embracing it. The sharp jabs at consumerism and gruesome violence tend to go hand-and-hand, but there is a notable attempt at recreating the same Yuletide cheer as classic Christmas films. While it does have some genuinely heartwarming moments, the feel-good sentiments make for a sometimes clunky combination.

The film isn’t quite as economical a piece of filmmaking as its aspirations, either. Some sections tend to drag when they should be heightening tension and Wirkola doesn’t use his core setting in any meaningful fashion; a majority of the films creative kills are solely used with Christmas items. With a runtime of 112 minutes, the film would be certainly benefit to come in around 90 minutes.

If you’re a genre fan, Violent Night has just about everything you could want in a twisted Christmas movie. This is a film that knows exactly what it does and absolutely sets out to deliver it, sparring no bloody detail.