WATCH: Santa Goes on a Brutal Rampage in the ‘Violent Night’ Trailer

By Rob Edwards - News Published: 7 Oct 2022, Last Updated: 29 Oct 2023

There’s been a lot of talk over the years about how Die Hard may or may not be the greatest Christmas movie of all time. While we wouldn’t dare argue against “John McClane is Coming to Town” becoming a Christmas carol staple, he may have to step aside for the original Yuletide hero – well, second after that guy who was born in a manger – because, if the hilarious new trailer is anything to go by, Santa won’t be pulling any punches when Violent Night hits cinemas on December 1 in Australia (December 2 in the US).

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Image: Universal

The writers behind Violent Night clearly had a single thought when putting the film’s script together: what if Die Hard starred Santa instead? Stranger Things favourite David Harbour is perfectly cast as a version of Mr Claus who’s forced to go up against a team of mercenaries invading a family’s home on Christmas Eve in search of $300 million stored in their vault. Led by John Leguizamo – a man who can chew scenery like his life depends on it when the time calls – the mercenaries are armed to the teeth and mean business.

Happily, Santa has a particular set of skills that he uses to dispatch said mercenaries in surprisingly effective fashion. Whether he’s using tinsel, decorative star lights, or hand grenades, Santa’s a force to be reckoned with. This is no family-friendly holiday flick that’ll fill the kiddies with the Christmas spirit.

Image: Universal

Produced by the people behind Nobody and Bullet Train and directed by the guy who made Dead Snow – that chainsaw scene, yeesh – Violent Night looks like a wonderfully trashy time at the movies. Whether it eclipses Die Hard as the supreme example of this particular brand of violent Christmassy chaos remains to be seen (and that’s a pretty high bar, to be fair).

Either way, Violent Night looks like it might just hit the mark Mel Gibson’s Fatman was aiming for but missed ever so slightly back in 2020. Watch the trailer above or check it out via the link below.

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Rob Edwards

Rob Edwards is Man of Many’s Branded Content Editor. As a former editor of consumer technology and lifestyle publications like T3, Official Nintendo Magazine, Official Windows Magazine, and TechRadar, Rob has honed his expertise in consumer technology and lifestyle products over many years.

Rob also has a wealth of experience in collaborating with brands to create high-quality branded content. Through his role as Senior Editor & Technical Specialist at one of the world's most prestigious PR firms, Edelman, Rob worked closely with leading brands like Samsung, Amazon, Google, and more. Now he brings his unique skill set to create both engaging editorial and superior branded content for Man of Many's discerning audience.

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