Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Violent Night.
Violent Night has all the makings of a future Christmas classic. It features a unique pitch: Santa Claus (David Harbour) is forced to dispatch a horde of armed criminals when they invade a rich family's home. It's also far gorier than the usual Christmas fare, thanks to director Tommy Wirkola (Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters) and producer David Leitch (Deadpool 2, Bullet Train). But underneath all the gore and profanity is a surprisingly moving story about the idea of "Christmas spirit" — namely, the feelings of peace and goodwill on Earth that tend to fill most people's hearts in holiday-themed movies.
And it's a feeling that Santa has lost. The movie opens with him at a bar, drowning his sorrows in beer instead of milk and cookies. "The whole planet runs on greed," he growls, lamenting about how kids are starting to lose more and more belief in him. A montage only seems to hammer home the point: Santa arrives at a house full of Amazon boxes, and he leaves a pile of coal for a drunken father who left his infant daughter too close to the TV. He even takes a leak when passing the Washington Monument. Simply put, Jolly Ol' Saint Nick isn't feeling particularly jolly.
How Santa Revives His Christmas Spirit
That changes once he visits the family compound that belongs to the wealthy Lightstone family. At first glance, they seem to be the exact kind of people that Santa's grown to despise. Matriarch Gertrude (Beverly D'Angelo) is rarely seen without a drink in her hand, and daughter Alva (Edi Patterson) is more concerned with getting into her mother's will than showing any kind of familial love. The sole people who seem like actual human beings are Getrude's son Jason (Alex Hassell), who is attempting to reconnect with his estranged wife Linda (Alexis Louder) and give his daughter Trudy (Leah Brady) a good Christmas.
In fact, it's Trudy's belief in Santa that saves the day. Having forgotten to take her to the mall to see Santa, Jason comes up with the clever idea of giving her a walkie-talkie that he says will provide a direct line to Santa. He's more right than he realizes: after an encounter with one of the thieves who's broken into the Lightstone mansion, the real Santa picks up his walkie-talkie and ends up connecting with Trudy. All throughout the film, they have conversations about Santa's bloody past as the Viking warrior Nicomund the Red, and how Santa is struggling to hold onto his Christmas spirit. Even when things get bleak, Trudy refuses to lose her faith in Santa, which gives him the energy necessary to dispatch the invaders with extreme prejudice.
Mr. Scrooge Is Tops on Santa's Naughty List
In contrast, the leader of the thieves, "Mr. Scrooge" (John Leguizamo) has more than earned his place on Santa's naughty list. He's determined to walk away with the $300 million stored in Gertrude's vault, no matter who he has to kill to get it. And he seems to despise the very idea of Christmas, even opening fire on the Lightstones' heavily decorated tree with a machine gun. Eventually, Scrooge reveals the reason behind his hatred of Christmas: during one holiday season, his father was laid off and wasn't able to afford their annual Christmas celebration. He decided to rob their next door neighbors, but ended up causing the death of an elderly man. Therefore, he sees a golden opportunity to kill Santa and end Christmas forever — but he fails, as Santa uses his ability to travel through chimneys in order to violently dispatch of his opponent.
Yet their fight takes a toll on Santa, and he lies dying. In desperation, Trudy attempts to convince the rest of her family to believe in Santa — and they do, resurrecting him and his belief in Christmas. Jason even burns the $300 million to keep him warm, in a truly selfless act. Even though he's been through a long and violent night, Santa flies off into the snowy skies, with his Christmas spirit all the stronger.
Violent Night is now playing in theaters.