Look, if you’re going to rob a family on Christmas Eve, just do it after Santa Claus stops at the house. This is Criminal Logic 101. Because, if you don’t, Santa could arrive when you’re there, and then you’re in deep, deep, Reindeer crap.
The first trailer for Violent Night is here and no, this is not a parody. It’s a real movie being released in real movie theaters on December 2 and it looks like a freaking blast. David Harbour (Stranger Things) plays the real Santa Claus who, while delivering presents on Christmas, interrupts a robbery in progress. And who better to save the family from being victimized than Santa himself? Here’s the trailer.
The idea of robbing people in a single location on Christmas, and one person who puts themselves on the line to save them, is where I get the Die Hard comparison. But, of course, this John McLane has special powers and a penchant for cookies, so that’s where the comparison ends. Both Santa and John do seem to be able to raise hell with authority, though—and Santa doing so with exploding pieces of coal and sharp Christmas ornaments surely gives him a leg up on his intruders.
If this movie is half as entertaining as the trailer makes it out to be it could become not just a big hit this holiday season, where competition for something more R-rated and fun is very thin, but in the years to come. Because that’s why you make a Christmas movie, right? So people watch it annually. Fingers crossed Violent Night is good enough to become that.
Violent Night is directed by Tommy Wirkola (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Dead Snow franchise), written by Pat Casey and Josh Miller (Sonic the Hedgehog), and produced by 87 North, the team behind Nobody, John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, and more. It hits theaters on December 2.
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