Violent Night Trailer Starring David Harbour as Santa Claus Released

The long-running debate about whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie gets taken quite literally in this trailer for Violent Night, a new action film starring Stranger Things and Marvel’s Thunderbolts star David Harbour. Harbour plays a version of Santa Claus who is just trying to do his yearly duty to kids of the world – only to have his workflow interrupted when he gets involved in the home invasion of a wealthy family while delivering presents to their estate. So just how formidable is Santa in a combat situation? Violent Night posits that Santa truly does have some waiting for those who are naughty… 

Violent Night is clearly shooting (pun) to become another Christmas Holiday classic, watched every holiday season. The crazy thing is: this trailer makes it look like the film is just weird, wild, funny, and hard-hitting action-packed enough to just maybe pull it off! 

It’s good to see that director Tommy Wirkola (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Dead Snow) is once again not taking things too seriously in his wacky and weirdly fun genre blending. Violent Night looks like it is equal parts Die Hard and Elf, with Harbour throwing in a minor Bad Santa riff for his version of Ol’ Saint Nick. Those films are all enduring Holiday Season classics with good reason, and even the cheesier bits of Violent Night (pun-heavy one-liners like “Time for season’s beatings!”) go down like the type of good-but-bad-for-you treats we enjoy eating all season long. 

You can get the full synopsis and cast & crew details for Violent Night, below:

 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.

The film also stars Emmy winner John Leguizamo (John Wick), Cam Gigandet (Without Remorse), Alex Hassell (Cowboy Bebop), Alexis Louder (The Tomorrow War), Edi Patterson (The Righteous Gemstones) and Beverly D’Angelo (National Lampoon’s Vacation franchise).

Directed by razor-edged Norwegian director Tommy Wirkola (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Dead Snow franchise), Violent Night is produced by 87North’s Kelly McCormick David Leitch and Guy Danella. The original screenplay is by Pat Casey & Josh Miller, the writers of Sonic the Hedgehog. The film’s executive producer is Marc S. Fischer.

Violent Night will be released in theatres on December 2nd.