‘VIOLENT NIGHT’ plantb

wrapping paper gauzes and a ribbon with a bow before drinking a little more and taking a nap.

Trudy and Santa do a great job of adding real emotional content into a movie that would otherwise be mostly blunt violence and holiday puns. The rest of the Lightstones appear to be irredeemably selfish compared to Trudy, but eventually come together in a way that makes their horrible behavior seem superficial and somehow less important.

Santa kills about 20 mercenaries before finishing their leader, Mr. Scrooge, in a scene that could be considered excessive in a “Mortal Kombat” game, but a member of the group survives and ambushes him, causing him fatal injuries. Trudy encourages her family not to give up hope, and the film’s writers might have let him die in this version of the story. But her mom tells her that she believes this is really Santa Claus, and the rest of the family follows suit, creating just enough Christmas magic to revive Santa. His reindeer return after the chaos has subsided and so he heads out to complete his primary mission.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who believes Die Hard is a Christmas movie – but I would probably wait a while before I watch it with my kids. It is in truth more than just an action movie, yet the heartwarming moments that make you believe in the spirit of Christmas come in scenes where characters are either drunk or soaked in blood, which is not everyone’s preference.

Leguizamo is more fun to watch as a goofy support character than as lead villain, but his humor and extensive martial arts background make him an entertaining foil. Harbour’s character is not much different from his recent roles in “Stranger Things” or “Black Widow,” both showing strength, humility, and tenderness, in an oddly shaped and comforting package. I personally enjoyed both those roles and am not offended by seeing a third version of the same thing.

Ultimately, Violent Santa may not have the same lasting popularity as the movies it is modeled after, but I definitely enjoyed it.