Universal is finally giving us a peek at their latest movie “Violent Night” with a shiny new trailer. While it was originally billed as a horror move it is now being called an action-comedy. Which seems a bit more fitting given the plotline.
David Harbour (“Stranger Things”) plays an ass-kicking (and real) Santa Clause who gets in a bit of a situation on Christmas Eve. While delivering toys jolly ol’ Saint Nick finds himself having to help a wealthy family that is held hostage by a gang of mercenaries. Father Christmas will have to use all of his toy-delivering powers to save them.
At CinemaCon earlier this year, star Harbour even compared it to “Die Hard.” While the genre it’s listed under may have changed, we can still see some “coal-dark” horror elements in “Violent Night.” As the trailer shows, it doesn’t skimp on gore as Santa goes after John Leguizamo‘s (“The Happening”) mercenaries.
“Violent Night” also stars Beverly D’Angelo (“National Lampoon’s Vacation”) as the family matriarch who makes her kids compete for her love. Alex Hassell (“Cowboy Bebop”) plays one of D’Angelo’s adult children. Alexis Louder (“The Tomorrow War”) is Hassell’s estranged wife who is only there so their daughter can have Christmas with both parents. In early March, Edi Patterson (“The Righteous Gemstones”) and Cam Gigandet (“Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse”) joined the cast.
The movie is directed by Norwegian filmmaker Tommy Wirkola (“Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters”). The screenplay is written by 2020’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller. With Marc S. Fischer executive producing along with 87North’s Kelly McCormick, David Leitch, and Guy Danella.
“Violent Night” is set to hit theaters on December 2, 2022. Check out the trailer below:
