Violent Night

Director: Tommy Wirkola
Starring: David Harbour, John Leguizamo, Alex Hassell, Alexis Louder, Edi Patterson, Cam Gigandet, Leah Brady, Beverly D'Angelo, André Eriksen, Brendan Fletcher, Mike Dopud, Alexander Elliot, Mitra Suri
Running Time: 107 min.
Rating: R

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

It's easy to forget that while actor David Harbour first entered the public consciousness as Jim Hopper on Netflix's Stranger Things, he's been kicking around on screen for years in supporting parts, some more noteworthy than others. He was one of those reliable faces you'd recognize from various projects, even if you didn't know his name. Recently, that all changed, opening the door for lead roles in 2019's Hellboy reboot, and now Violent Night, where he plays a burnt out, beer swilling Santa Claus. It's the ideal role for him, as the gruff, no-nonsense, anti-hero persona he's perfected as Hopper just naturally lends itself to a twisted take on St. Nick. 

Director Tommy Wirkola goes for a Bad Santa meets Die Hard vibe, but audiences might also be  reminded of 2021's Bob Odenkirk-starring vehicle, Nobody, where circumstances suddenly push the unlikeliest of action heroes into vigilante mode. And if the obvious difference is Harbour's hulking physical presence, that's offset by the role he's asked to take on. He's no ordinary department store Santa, but the real deal. And despite a natural inclination to roll your eyes at that, this choice ultimately makes the film more satisfying than it would otherwise be, cleverly mixing magical elements with a barrage of bullets and beatdowns.

As Santa Claus (Harbour) gets drunk at bar in England on Christmas Eve, lamenting the challenges of his job, Jason Lightstone (Alex Hassell), along with his estranged wife Linda (Alexis Louder) and 7-year-old daughter Trudy (Leah Brady), head over to his mother Getrude's (Beverly D'Angelo) Greenwich, Connecticut mansion for the holiday. Also attending are Jason's self-absorbed, alcoholic sister Alva (Edie Patterson), her social media-obsessed son Bert (Alexander Elliot) and aspiring action movie star boyfriend Morgan Steel (Cam Gigandet). 

When a soused Santa lands at the Lightstone estate to drop off gifts, so do a gang of mercenaries posing as caterers. Going by Christmas-themed code names, they're led by the ruthless "Scrooge" (John Leguizamo), who takes the family hostage, planning to steal the $300 million in cash stashed away in the mansion's vault. Suddenly in the wrong place at the wrong time, Santa's discovered and must fight for his life to protect himself and the Lightstones, as young Trudy gradually helps him rediscover his appreciation for Christmas along the way.

Though Wirkola's looking to do more than simply spoof the filthy rich, nearly all the characters are selfish and detestable, with the exceptions of Jason, Linda and daughter Trudy, who are decent people dealing with toxic relatives. Foul-mouthed matriarch Gertrude rules the roost, but sister Alva is a spoiled suck-up with an irritating son and dumb, narcissistic boyfriend. All of this is effectively established within minutes and before the real fun begins with the arrival of Scrooge and his merry band of assassins. 

Between this and The Menu, John Leguizamo has been on a roll lately in these darkly comedic satires and his part here is larger than you'd expect, carrying long stretches of the film as the head baddie with a traumatizing Christmas history. Equally menacing and sarcastic, he's having a blast here and there's a good amount of buildup to his eventual confrontation with St. Nick, which doesn't disappoint. And it wouldn't seem immediately apparent just how equipped Harbor is for this part until you see everything he does with it. 

Screenwriters Pat Casey and Josh Miller take an ambitious route, concocting a brief but memorable Santa backstory to explain his violent tendencies while seamlessly working in the more fantastical holiday elements. It also helps that Harbour doesn't play him as some kind of invincible superhero, but a grizzled barroom brawler in over his head, solemnly reminiscing about his marriage and expressing disillusionment with how greed and commercialization has overtaken Christmas. Once he shows up at the mansion and is uncovered by Scrooge's squad, a violent cat-and-mouse game ensues, until the Lightstone's extraction team arrives, leading to some twists and turns. 

Trudy is the only character who believes this guy is really Santa and the bond the two form via walkie-talkie is probably the film's best sub-plot, accompanied by a Home Alone-inspired booby trap scene that's surprisingly successful at invoking the tone and comedic spirit of that holiday classic. This not feeling forced or out of place is an accomplishment in itself, as are the plethora of fight sequences, including a sensational one set to Bryan Adam's "Christmas Time." 

One of the more audacious yuletide entries the genre's gotten in a while, Violent Night features a commanding lead turn and an inspired premise that's better executed than its description and advertising implies. The ending shouldn't work, yet strangely does, mainly because Wirkola clearly the sets the rules for this universe at the beginning and stays consistent throughout. That's there's already a sequel in the works should come as no surprise since it's easy to envision this character returning for more season's beatings. Its ability to merge wildly inventive violence with childlike Christmas fantasy is what most impresses, along with a performance from Harbour that proves he's an action star in the making.