“Violent Night” is an extraordinary film that blends bloody gore with heart-warming feelings about Christmas. The new Santa Claus lore which is introduced becomes pivotal to the resolution of the hostage crisis in the story. Echoing pictures like “Die Hard” and “Home Alone,” this is sure to become an instant holiday classic for those who like their holiday cheer with a touch of mayhem.

The movie begins with a drunken Santa Claus (David Harbour) in a pub in Bristol, England. He is bemoaning the crass consumerism that has afflicted today’s children. A barmaid and a rent-a-Santa try to cheer him up but he starts mumbling about this being the last Christmas.

When Santa gets up to leave, he gives a gift out of his bag for the barmaid’s grandson. She marvels that he knew the name of her relative and then notices that Santa has exited onto the roof. She goes up to tell him to come down when she sees him with his airborne sleigh and 8 reindeer (no Rudolph). As she is mesmerized by this sight, Santa vomits onto her as he departs.

Next the action moves to Greenwich, Connecticut, where Jason Lighthouse (Alex Hassell) is waiting to be picked up by his estranged spouse Linda (Alexis Louder). In the car is their daughter Gertrude (Leah Brady), who goes by Trudy. The tension between the two adults is palpable but Trudy’s joy for Christmas is infectious.

They arrive at the mansion of the Lighthouse estate. Inside are many staff members. Soon Jason’s sister Alva (Edi Patterson) appears with her significant other Morgan Steel (Cam Gigandet) and her son Bert (Alexander Elliot), short for Bertrude. It is clear that there is significant sibling rivalry as they suck up to their wealthy mother Gertrude (Beverly D’Angelo).

Jason did not take Trudy to the mall to see Santa this year. So he and Linda give her a walkie-talkie to communicate with Santa. She is told that Santa might not answer because of his busy schedule delivering toys tonight. Soon Trudy reveals her wish: to have her parents reconcile.

Suddenly certain staff members veer away from the others and begin shooting the other employees. The family is rounded up into the living room. Mr. Scrooge (John Leguizamo), the leader, reveals that they are going to open the safe and get the 300 million dollars that Gertrude stole from the U.S. government.

Meanwhile, Santa has landed on the roof of the estate. He comes down the chimney through magic. He is distracted by liquor and home-made cookies. When one of the thugs comes into his room, a fistfight ensues. Santa wins and the crook is thrown out the window to be impaled on a vertical icicle.

Santa’s reindeer have taken off on their own and his magic to go up the chimney has vanished. Santa now has the dead man’s walkie-talkie. Surprisingly, Trudy is able to communicate with him. Santa realizes that he needs to rescue her.

Trudy is able to escape to the attic. She tells Santa that she is going to “Home Alone” the culprits looking for her. Soon we learn Santa’s real origin and how he will begin his assault on the gang.

One of this movie’s flaws is its slow start. The Lighthouse family, with the exception of Trudy, are over-the-top awful and elicit very little sympathy. The necessity of the preparatory Santa scenes seems unclear at first but then play seamlessly into the fabric of the narrative. Once the gang goes into action and starts killing people, the pace of the film never falters with the exception of some protracted fight scenes.

The scenes between the jaded Santa and the naïve Trudy bring such warmth to the screen that you cannot help but be moved at what the true spirit of Christmas is meant to embody. That these vignettes are contrasted with the blood and gore of violence is truly a marvel of storytelling. This is an extremely creative and skillful example of screenwriting.

The occasional humorous moments offset the seriousness of the hostage crisis and the peril posed in particular to Trudy. The “Home Alone” scenes as the thieves attempt to scale the ladder are pricelessly funny. Trudy may be sweet but she means business.
The story’s new takes on Santa Claus lore are brilliant. Santa admits at some points that he doesn’t know how the magic works. This makes him more of a normal person than an icon. This Santa also has flaws as we saw from his drinking binge.

But the key piece of genius is the origin story of Santa. I cannot give it away to avoid a spoiler. Yet it plays so perfectly into what Santa has to do to rescue Trudy, and incidentally, her relatives, that it is the piece de resistance of the film.

Another great twist is when Santa reveals that he knows the past wishes of some of the thieves. The dilemma they face in whether or not to acknowledge that this is the real Santa is an existential gem. There are some cute touches of “The Ransom of Red Chief” as well when the family’s bickering exasperates the captors.

David Harbour’s performance as Santa is pitch-perfect. You never doubt that this is a person who is a real human tasked with an extraordinary job. His disappointments, anger, sadness over his past life, and his joy in his original mission are conveyed expertly by Harbour.

You have to wonder about having an actor as young as Leah Brady in such a violent movie. Is this ethical? But she is a star as Trudy. She avoids making her character annoyingly precocious but keeps her sweet even as she kicks ass.

None of the other actors’ performances are particularly noteworthy. The Lighthouse family are effectively over-the-top stereotypes. Alex Hassell and Alexis Louder do have some nice scenes with Trudy and some later scenes with each other. John Leguizamo seems more to be going through the motions than being challenged as an actor.

The visual effects are very good. The different ways that people are killed are portrayed believably. The scenes with the sleigh and the reindeer are nicely done. The magic scroll of who is naughty and nice is both fantastical and whimsical.

This is almost a picture that defies description. But it certainly exceeds expectations in its charm, cleverness, and execution. I defy anyone to not believe in Christmas by the end of the movie. Unsuitable for young children.

Four out of five stars

To hell with “all is calm.”

From 87North, the bare-knuckle producers of Nobody, John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Bullet Train and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw comes a coal-dark holiday action-comedy that says you should always bet on red.

When a team of mercenaries breaks into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone inside hostage, the team isn’t prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus (David Harbour, Black Widow, Stranger Things series) is on the grounds, and he’s about to show why this Nick is no saint.

Cast: David Harbour, John Leguizamo, Cam Gigandet, Alex Hassell, Alexis Louder, Edi Patterson and Beverly D’Angelo
Directed by: Tommy Wirkola
Screenplay by: Pat Casey & Josh Miller