On the Fifth Day of Die Hard, My True Love Gave to Me...

There has long been a discussion about whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie. I see the argument either way. On the one hand, it does take place during the season, with our hero arriving in L.A. to reconnect with his wife at her work’s Christmas party. There’s decorations, and a tree, and Christmas music, which all helps to add to the trappings of the season. But then terrorists show up and much of the Christmas vibe (outside of the occasional joke) is lost. When you think of a Christmas movie, you think of something that makes you warm with holiday cheer, and cheering on a dude as he blows away dozens of terrorists isn’t exactly the feeling we’re talking about.

It seems like one team in Hollywood had the same thought. These guys – director Tommy Wirkola and writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller – had one specific thought in mind: what if Die Hard were really a Christmas movie. Their way to make that happen was to put the single most obvious personification of the season in as the main hero of the film. Thus we have Violent Night, which puts the one and only Santa Claus in a fight for his life against terrorists that have invaded a mansion.

And it works. While the concept is silly, the film treats it with just enough seriousness to make it all hang together. Santa getting caught in a mansion and having to single-handedly fight off a group of burglars there to rob the joint of a small fortune works just as well in the confines of the story as John McClane getting stuck in Nakatomi Plaza. It’s the every man against a squad of elite, trained soldiers… it just so happens that the every man in this case is a thousands of years old spirit of the season that’s more famous for giving out presents than kicking all kinds of ass.

It’s Christmas Eve, the time when everyone comes together to huddle up in their homes and await the morning. It’s also the day, in the stories, when Santa goes from home to home, delivering presents to all the good little girls and boys. But Santa (David Harbour) is tired of the season, tired of the kids always asking for more, more, more, never feeling the spirit and joy and hope of the season. Everyone is so greedy, and Santa feels especially jaded, thinking this just might be his last year on the job.

Over in Greenwich, CT, Jason (Alex Hassell) meets up with his estranged wife, Linda (Alexis Louder), as well as his bright and happy daughter, Trudy (Leah Brady). They’re all coming together to celebrate Christmas with Jason’s family, his mother Gertrude (Beverly D'Angelo) and sister Alva (Edi Patterson), at the family mansion. But, as they’re getting all settled in, a group of terrorists disguised as the party help take over. They’re there for a boat load of money that Gertrude has sitting in the family vault, and they aren’t leaving until they get it. They just didn’t expect that old Saint Nick would be at the mansion, or that he’d get stuck there and have to defend the one girl, Trudy, that still believes in him.

A good Die Hard clone understands the simple premise. You need a relatable, untrained guy stuck in a place he doesn’t want to be, having to deal with a group of skilled warriors. He has to fight them off not only to save himself but because it’s the right thing to do. He has to get injured, get tired, struggle to survive. It has to be a fight, with our schlubby hero improvising and doing whatever he can. And it can’t be a foregone conclusion that he wins. It has to be a miracle, in effect.

What I appreciate about Violent Night is that the movie understands all that. Yes, the hero of the story is Santa Claus, but this Santa is kind of a bum. He’s an alcoholic, he’s on the outs with his wife, he doesn’t have much to live for. He’s the perfect analogue, in effect for John McClane, except that he’s a holiday figure and not just a beat cop. It works because you don’t expect Santa to be a good warrior, able to fight off a team of trained mercs, not any better than McClane could have. It gets you invested, and it lets you enjoy the action.

Helping matters considerably is that David Harbor is fantastic as Santa. He hits the right notes on Santa’s journey, from the bum he starts out as to the spirit of renewed hope and light he becomes as, through a series of violent encounters protecting a kid on the holiday, he finds his game and comes back to himself. Plus, he acquits himself well during the many action sequences of the film. You could almost think of it like Santa meets John WickStarted as a tale of redemption and then revenge (in that order), the John Wick series has grown to be a adynamic, reliable action series that doesn't skimp on the hard hits and gun-toting thrills, elevating Keanu Reeves as one of the greatest action stars ever., in a way, with a holiday figure finding the killer within himself to pay some karmic justice, especially with producer David Leitch (of the first John Wick) on board. The movie knows how to put its central figure in the shit and get the best from its lead.

Pairing Santa up with a little kid helps, too. It feeds into the Die Hard vibe, with little Trudy acting for Santa like Al does for John in Die Hard, the voice that talks to him and gets him to feel hope. Of course, Trudy also gets to follow her own little Christmas homage, setting traps and fighting a few terrorists that come after her, a la Home Alone. The film calls out that other holiday classic early, and draws the parallel I’ve always felt, that Home Alone is part of the proper extended Die Hard cannon. Plus, when it’s real bad guys going after a little girl so they can kill her, you don’t mind if her traps are actually deadly.

The film revels in playing homage to a few movies. Not just Die Hard and Home Alone but also Die Hard 2: Die Harder as well. This comes in the form of a twist that’s easy to guess, but one that I won’t spoil. It is obvious to see, though, when it happens. And it shows that the creative team on this film took notes. They knew what they were doing, and the cannon they were playing in, and they made the best version of a Die Hard Christmas movie they could. They wanted you to enjoy their hero and get up and cheer as he fights for the season. Even someone that doesn’t care that much about Christmas (perhaps, like me, because they’re Jewish) can still enjoy the construction, humor, and action of this film all the same.

Violent Night is that perfect blend of over-the-top violence and Christmas spirit that people didn’t know they needed. Die Hard was a hit because it found a way to blend big action with just a little Christmas joy (even if, technically, it came out in Summer of 1988). Violent Night doubles down and delivers on the promise, making what was only hinted at explicit. It works here, with a Santa you can love as he beats the ever loving hell out of anyone that gets in his way. If that doesn’t make a Christmas classic, I don’t know what could.