Film Review: Violent Night won't be everyone's cup of Christmas tea
David Harbour as Santa Claus in Violent Night
- Violent Night
- ★★★★☆
’Tis the season to be lethal, tra-la-la, etc. (16s) opens in Bristol on Christmas Eve with a booze-sodden Santa Claus (David Harbour) waxing lyrical about how he despises the current generation of greedy, grasping children. But when Santa arrives as the Connecticut compound of the fabulously wealthy Lightstones, where the extended Lightstone family – including the matriarchal Gertrude (Beverly D’Angelo) and her young granddaughter Trudy (Leah Brady) – have been taken hostage by a ruthless gang led by a self-styled Scrooge (John Leguizamo), the old Christmas magic quickly reasserts itself.
Traditionalists might baulk at the idea that the old Christmas magic here manifests itself as Santa arming himself with a sledgehammer and channelling his previous incarnation as a Norse warrior, but such would be petty carping: Violent Night is Bad Santa meets Home Alone, and those who prefer their Christmas movies to be genteel affairs are best advised to avoid. On the other hand, those who might get a chuckle from the sight of Santa Claus crushing skulls to a backing track of Bryan Adams’ ultra-cheesy Christmas Time will probably find much to enjoy, because writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller, and director Tommy Wirkola, are determined to wring every last drop of blood and guts out of their chaotic take on festive frolics.
It’s not all about the brutalising gore, though: as young Trudy seeks to reunite her separated parents (Alexis Louder and Alex Hassell), her unshakeable faith in Santa’s redemptive powers offer a touching counterpoint to all the carnage. It won’t be everyone’s mug of eggnog, of course, but Violent Night is an irreverent kind of Die Hard, with John Leguizamo suitably nasty as the Grinch-like criminal mastermind and David Harbour in fine form as the blood-spattered Saint Nick. (cinema release)
