David Harbour reigned this summer with the latest season of Stranger Things, and now in the wintry holiday season, the actor is all set to add a new spin to Santa Claus with Violent Night. While R-rated Christmas films aren't a new phenomenon, Violent Night's uniqueness lies in the fact that Harbour very much plays a "real Santa Claus".
Otherwise, in other raunchy or terrifying holiday classics like Bad Santa and Silent Night, Deadly Night, the lead character is either a Mall Santa or a serial killer. In the case of most of Shane Black's filmography and offbeat Christmas cult favorites like Die Hard, Santa and the lore might not appear, but the action takes place during Christmastime and weirdly captures the festive spirit.
Bad Santa (2003)
Available To Rent On Amazon Video
Bad Santa finds Billy Bob Thornton playing an alcoholic, foul-mouthed conman who hops from mall to mall, dressed up as Santa by day and then looting the place by night.
However, matters get complicated when Thornton's titular Bad Santa strikes an unlikely friendship with a bullied child, leading to an even more unexpected path of redemption. While Harbour's Santa in Violent Night is not a crook, a central theme of the film is his friendship with a young girl called Trudy who summons him in the first place. Together as a mercenary-fighting team, the duo forms a bond that is unexpectedly wholesome. And given Bad Santa's reputation as one of the best non-traditional Christmas movies, it is a must-watch for Violent Night's audiences.
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2005)
Stream On Showtime
From the Lethal Weapon series to The Nice Guys, Shane Black makes his love for Christmas pretty evident in his screenplays. This neo-noir action flick (which also marked Black's directorial debut) continues this tradition, with Christmas serving as a backdrop for a murder mystery involving a conman and a private eye.
With Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr. bickering to each other in their blood-stained misadventures, Black provides enough self-aware humor and satirical introspection for Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang to be a stylish tribute to the classic hard-boiled literary genre. Striking the perfect balance of violence and comedy, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang achieves what a Christmas comedy like Violent Night aims for.
Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
Stream On Redbox
Even a joyous festival like Christmas can turn into a nightmarish experience for some, as was the case with Billy. The antihero of Silent Night, Deadly Night witnessed his parents die at the hands of a Santa impersonator.
The ensuing childhood trauma and a tough upbringing in an orphanage turns Billy into a cold-blooded murderer who decides to dress up as Santa himself and embark on a killing spree one Christmas. Billy's descent into madness represented a murderous touch to Santa that was characteristic of several Christmas-themed horror movies. However, the 80s cult classic's dated campiness and shameless emphasis on shock value is what makes it stand out as a fun-filled tale of Christmas terror for adults. The viewers don't need to use much of their gray matter or focus on cinematic merit while streaming this one.
The Lodge (2020)
Stream On Hulu
The Lodge subverts the usual tropes of survival horror and Christmas movies with its unpredictable premise of a woman and her stepdaughters trapped inside a snowy lodge right around the time of season's greetings. As the family starts observing an ominous, unexplainable phenomenon, survival becomes even more challenging.
With enough twists and turns in the screenplay and an original take on wintertime horror, The Lodge makes for a genuinely chilling watch, perfect for the late hours of a December night. While Violent Night is intended to tickle its audience's funny bone despite all the violence and gore, The Lodge will be a perfect contrast for viewers who now wish to transition to a more serious Christmas movie.
Black Christmas (1974)
Stream On TubiTV
The Canadian slasher Black Christmas chronicles the fears of a group of sorority sisters who are being stalked and targeted by a reckless serial killer around the movie's titular occasion.
The festive setting aside, Black Christmas would engage viewers of Violent Night given how they both delve into a face-off between one violent killer and an entire group of individuals. The only difference is the moral compass of both sides. So, while Black Christmas' antagonistic murderer goes after a sorority, the hyper-violent Santa Claus takes on a band of mercenaries in Violent Night. Both turn into "one-man armies," although for very different reasons.
Trading Places (1983)
Available To Rent On AMC On Demand
When Dan Aykroyd's upper-class broker and Eddie Murphy's street hustler swap their lives, laughs and thrills ensue. With this social experiment taking place around Christmas, the situation only gets more chaotic.
Trading Places is a comedy that lacks Violent Night's hand-to-hand violence or large explosions. But still, its focus on dark comedy along with its modern retelling of Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper make the John Landis directorial venture quite an interesting entry in the pantheon of holiday movies set in New York. As Violent Night in itself is a reinterpretation of Santa Claus's mythology and the central character himself serves as a meta-satirical look at action heroes, Trading Places would indeed be a witty holiday comedy for watchers.
A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011)
Stream On HBO Max
The third installment of the Harold and Kumar series makes its bumbling protagonists go down a rabbit hole of Christmas misdeeds after they set out to find a specific Christmas tree. Joining them in their hunt is Neil Patrick Harris, with the How I Met Your Mother star returning to play a fictionalized version of himself.
Given that Harold and Kumar are estranged as friends in the movie's timeline, the search for the tree makes them revisit their bond, proving yet again how Christmas is the perfect season for friendship. What Violent Night's audiences would appreciate is the sheer randomness of the movie evoking yet again the familiar raunchy, irreverent comedy of the franchise, but with a festive twist.
Once Upon A Time At Christmas (2015)
Stream On TubiTV
With twelve days left for Christmas, Santa and Mrs. Claus make for a murderous couple, killing the residents of a sleepy town one by one. As the investigators embark on a race against time to find the next name on Santa's list, a gruesome Christmas murder mystery is set in motion.
Once Upon A Time at Christmas is mindlessly engaging with some creative kills executed by an interesting reinterpretation of the couple in focus. While audiences would be used to a violent Santa, this 2015 low-budget horror even throws a homicidal Mrs. Santa Claus in the mix, providing for a darkly funny and macabre Christmas story reminiscent of Violent Night.
Office Christmas Party (2017)
Stream On FXNow
The title is pretty self-explanatory in this case as Office Christmas Party simply deals with one wild Christmas night when corporate office employees embark on all sorts of drunken mischievousness.
With an ensemble led by familiar comedy names like Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston, Kate McKinnon, and TJ Miller, Office Christmas Party shows how Christmas can also be the time for adults to let loose. Classics like Home Alone and The Polar Express might show how some kids end up on the naughty list, but the adults are no less (some adults are literally on the list as shown in Violent Night). With enough substance-fueled debauchery and sexually-charged dialogue, Office Christmas Party is a silly satire on the raunchy side of the season.
Die Hard (1988)
Stream On Starz
Die Hard might have initially played out as just an action flick with John McClane fighting off hijackers to save his wife. But now after more than four decades since its release, it has undeniably become a festive mainstay with a focus on familial themes and even some classic Die Hard quotes being about Christmas.
Added to this, McClane's improvised survival techniques to go against an entire group of terrorists in the Nakatomi Plaza is no less of a Christmas miracle. Die Hard's impact on the action genre can also be measured by the numerous other flicks that followed the same blueprint. Violent Night is no exception, as most of the plot is set in the course of one Christmas night within the confines of one house with Santa waging war against mercenaries who can easily double as Gruber's henchmen.