Alexis Louder, Leah Brady and Alex Hassell (L-R) star in “Violent Night” (Photo Credit: Universal Pictures/Getty Images).
(“Violent Night” trailer courtesy of Universal Pictures)
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Parents, keep your children at home if their image of Santa Claus is the jolly, old fat guy with a heart of gold who spreads holiday cheer to children throughout the world.
However, if their image of Santa Claus is a depressed, angry and drunk old man just doing his tired a$$ job because he has no choice, “Violent Night” might be just the movie for them.
In “Violent Night,” a movie that takes such infamous Christmas flicks like “Bad Santa” and “Bad Santa 2” to the next level, Old Saint Nick is a straight up alcoholic gangsta who should spend Christmas Eve at an alcoholics anonymous meeting instead of delivering packages to anonymous children around the globe.
Luckily for Santa, he does not have to drive a vehicle in his inebriated condition thanks to his reliably sober colleagues, the reindeers.
For many, the Christmas holiday is the most wonderful time of the year.
Many have time off from work.
The children do not have to go to school.
Therefore, families, immediate and distant, have a chance to recuperate and reconnect for a few brief days.
And children have it the best during the Christmas holidays.
Children on Santa’s nice list, receive all the gifts from their Christmas list if they are lucky.
However, what does Santa really get out of the holidays?
Sure, children on the nice list might be appreciative briefly because they got the toy or video game that they wanted.
But often, the happiness only lasts for a fleeting moment because it will not take long for them to want the newest toy and the latest video game, making them soon forget what Santa brought them on Dec. 25.
In “Violent Night,” Santa (David Harbor, “Black Mass”) has become so fed up with the world’s greed that he spends all his off time getting wasted with alcohol.
The only reprieve that he gets while on the job is when he finds a home with its own bar.
Oh yeah, he does like the occasional cookie or two or three.
However, Santa hates it when children leave him skim milk.
For some adults, Christmas can create a lot of anxiety too because everyone is not delighted to see their relatives.
Nevertheless, those people often must stomach that familial discomfort so their children can spend time with their cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles.
In “Violent Night,” that dynamic is especially stressful for Jason Lightstone (Alex Hassell) and his wife Linda (Alexis Louder) because their marriage has hit a rough patch.
But the estranged couple will do anything for their daughter Trudy Lightstone (Leah Brady) because she loves spending time with her grandmother, Gertrude Lightstone (Beverly D’Angelo).
As a matter of fact, Trudy might be the only member of the dysfunctional Lightstone family who enjoys spending time with Gertrude.
In “Violent Night,” Gertrude is what one would call a piece of work, piece of crap or piece of you know what.
In essence, Gertrude is a female dog.
However, this female is filthy rotten rich.
And because of her wealth, her children like Alva Lightstone (Edi Patterson) feel the need to kiss up, brown nose or kiss Gertrude’s ring so they can benefit from her immense wealth and power.
Even Alva’s husband Morgan (Cam Cigandet) is determined to get on Gertrude’s good side.
In “Violent Night,” Morgan sees Gertrude as his ticket to success in Hollywood.
He is an aspiring actor.
Therefore, Morgan’s Christmas gift to his mother-in-law is a pitch deck, which he hopes will encourage her to invest in his movie project.
In “Violent Night,” Morgan’s brother-in-law Jason is not impressed with his skills on the big screen though.
However, Jason believes that Morgan’s acting performance as Alva’s husband is his best performance because anyone who can find his sister appealing deserves an Oscar.
Unfortunately, Gertrude’s family members are not the only ones angling for her riches.
In “Violent Night,” Scrooge (John Leguizamo) and his crew of criminals also have their eyes set on robbing the wealthy family of the $300 million they have saved in their vault.
However, when Santa interrupts Scrooge’s plan on ruining the Lightstone family’s Christmas, some gangsta “ish” to the 10th power ensues.
Despite the gangsterism of “Violent Night,” which includes a Santa Claus with tattoos, the movie does include some heart and holiday cheer thanks to the adorable Trudy.
While no one else believes in Santa and his magic in “Violent Night,” Trudy’s belief gives the family a much-needed helping hand during their time of despair.
In “Violent Night,” Trudy’s maturity and outlook on life also gives Santa hope that not all children have become overcome with greed when it comes to Christmas.
Some still know one of the real reasons of Christmas and that is being more of a blessing to others than to themselves.
Bert (Alexander Elliot) is another likable character in “Silent Night.”
He has totally lived a charmed life. #Blessed
But to his social media followers, he portrays himself as a street tough gangsta.
Also, he recently got the first of what his uncle Jason thinks will be many sexual assault claims at the schoolhouse.
But the true star of “Violent Night” is old Saint Nick of course.
Not only does he spread holiday cheer to those who deserve it, he also spreads his knuckles to all the grinches of the world who deserve a violent night and not a silent night.
Instead of a holy night, those on the naught list get a gory night, which might be too violent for some viewers.
Nevertheless, even those on the nice list are advised to not get too close to him because this Santa will barf on them because of all the alcohol he consumes on the job.
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FOUR CROWNS=EXCELLENT
THREE CROWNS=GOOD
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