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Violent Night starts out with a tantalizing scenario. What if Santa Claus—the real guy—had become so disappointed with current youth culture that he was ready to throw in the towel? Too much “gimme, gimme, gimme,” too much entitlement.
Santa (David Harbour of Stranger Things) grabs a drink after a long day, knowing full well another trek around the globe is on the horizon. A department store “Santa” commiserates with him, unaware that he’s speaking with the actual Santa. Harbour conveys the weariness of a man burdened with providing happiness for an ever-harder-to-please society. He even speculates that this might be the last Christmas. Imagine that: Santa retiring. The paid “Santa” assumes, reasonably, that they’re talking about the job of posing with kids at Christmastime.
From that point, Violent Night could have gone in any number of directions. It could have journeyed into some dark recesses of the imagination to depict a Santa Claus in full-out rebellion against all of our coveted festive traditions. It could have painted a picture of a layabout Kris Kringle, perhaps not unlike Billy Bob Thornton in Bad Santa, but for real. A man who, despite having the unimaginable ability to deliver toys and trinkets around the world, has become so disgruntled and disenchanted he throws in the towel. What effect would the “death” of Christmas have on a society that, for years, has taken its presence for granted?
The team behind Violent Night aren’t interested in any of that. Instead, they’ve crafted a spoof-oriented action film that combines elements cribbed from Die Hard and Home Alone. After getting trapped in a mansion overtaken by a team of heavily armed robbers, Santa Claus is nothing more than John McClane with magical (albeit limited) powers. We get a few flashbacks to Claus’ origin, but nothing that provides any real insights into the character. That might’ve been interesting. But these filmmakers are intent on depicting what would happen to human beings if the booby traps Kevin McCallister laid in Home Alone were played with realistic outcomes, rather than in a cartoonish, family-friendly manner.
Make no mistake, there is absolutely nothing “dark” about the approach taken here. Many have labeled Violent Night a “black comedy,” but that would be giving it too much credit. It’s an action movie—and not a smart, clever, or inventive one. There’s a family being held hostage by a bunch of bad men and women (led by a phoning-it-in John Leguizamo, whose character is known as Scrooge). The matriarch of the family, Gertrude (Beverly D’Angelo), has millions squirreled away in the mansion. The unwitting hero just happens to wear a red suit and can beam himself up chimneys. Getrude’s granddaughter Trudy (Leah Brady) believes in Santa Claus, even though none of the adults around her share those beliefs. Her magical walkie-talkie allows her a direct line of communication with the jolly man.
Again, this isn’t what it might’ve been in more creative hands. Violent Night is a basic action movie with a dash of the supernatural, combined with the same “magic of Christmas” corniness that gets thrown into most typical seasonal fare. Maybe someone someday will have a more inventive take on the Santa Claus mythos—something truly subversive, with a recognizable point of view (maybe I should watch Fatman from 2020, but I must admit to having not seen that). Sadly, this one wastes a lot of potential.
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has unleashed this 4K UltraHD combo pack (which includes a standard Blu-ray and a Digital Copy code) just in time for the holidays. As much of a waste of time this one-joke lump of coal is, the cinematography by Matthew Weston is well-represented on the 4K disc. A few special features accompany the feature, for the masochists who want even more than the 107-minute feature. There’s a commentary track with director Tommy Wirkola and screenwriters Pat Casey and Josh Miller. There are three short featurettes, all promotional and self-congratulatory in nature, that explore various aspects of Violent Night, including the casting and action choreography.
