Avoid at all costs if you want to go into Violent Night spoiler-free!
Ah, Christmas. The best time of year for joy, family fun, and…season’s beatings?
Yes, that’s right, the David Harbour-led black comedy, Violent Night has hit theaters, and surprisingly, held up well against box-office hit Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Obviously, this movie had some sick fight scenes. I mean, it’s a Christmas action movie, you knew there were going to be some awesome Violent Night fight scenes from the moment we first heard Santa curse.
But, there’s one that really stands out to me the most out of every single fight scene in this movie. It is like Die Hard meets every popular Christmas movie, because it not only packs in the heartwarming moments that we all love, but packs a punch, too. However, the one scene that I genuinely have not stopped thinking about, for hours on end, is one that I know you might still be thinking about, also. Let’s get into it.
The Scene In The Shed Is Seriously The Best
I mean, it’s just the best. From the moment it starts.
There are so many amazing fight scenes in this movie, ones that could rival some of the best action movies out there. And through everything, I was entertained and feeling the Christmas spirit flowing through my body for real. From some of the first fights that Santa had with some of Mr. Scrooge’s henchmen, to that last fight against Mr. Scrooge, I was on the edge of my seat.
But this fight scene – God this fight scene.
I am seriously a tough cookie when it comes to trying to make me squirm or look away. I am a part of the generation that watched every season of The Walking Dead, grew up playing violent video games that are being turned into shows, and have watched all of both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, which is getting Season 2. Through it all, I never found myself cringing that often.
I think I’ve just become very desensitized to it after all this time, but truth be told, I didn’t think there was a movie or a show out there that could really make me excited or cringe as much as Violent Night did, and this scene proved it more and more as time went on.
From the moment Santa sees that hammer, he goes ape on this kill squad. I know, I know, it feels a little unrealistic, but Santa is magic – and to be honest, this version of Santa needs to make our list of the most unconventional versions of Santa Claus, because he was badass. He was slicing and dicing and beating up every single kill squad person, and I found myself not only cheering for him, but for the first time in a while, turning away from the screen.
I mean that in a good way. For someone like me, who has really seen a lot of gross things from the best horror movies and the best horror video games, and stuff like that, it’s hard to make me squirm. Violent Night did it in this scene while still making me cheer for the guy who was doing all the bludgeoning.
I have to say, my favorite part was when he used an ice skate to literally cut off a guy’s head, the body slowly falling to the ground – the guy getting dragged into the snowblower was close second. I bet you’re cringing just reading that. It’s gloriously bloody, and the fight scene was so well choreographed it made Santa look like a badass.
The Connection To Santa’s Past Made It Even Better
One thing I really did like about this fight scene in particular was the connection to Santa’s past. There are so many movies about Santa Claus. So many. And many of them tell different stories, but most are usually very PG-rated.
Santa’s backstory in this movie was, honestly, one of the best backstories I’ve seen in a while for the jolly saint. The idea that Santa was once a warrior before becoming a good man is something I can genuinely believe if you think about how history has gone, and since Santa has been doing this for centuries, it makes a certain amount of sense.
It gives Santa more character-depth than you would believe – it almost makes me wonder if Santa met his Mrs. Claus back when he was a warrior and they both just ended up becoming good people – but that’s besides the point. Maybe for a sequel, if it happens.
Either way, hearing about his past is something that is just so perfect, and that instance where we see Santa on the ground, spotting that sledgehammer – oh, you know it’s about to go down.
You can get excited for this movie all you want. You can laugh when it pays homage to Home Alone and all its gruesome injuries, or you can be on the edge of your seat watching the Violent Night cast go at each other, but nothing got me more hyped than this moment.
Because of this exact scene, where Santa just knows what he has to do, you get it. You get it and you can’t wait to see all this drama go down. We see him pick that sledgehammer up and we all know it’s a showdown that is about to happen.
Santa really embraced his “are you not entertained” moment from Gladiator because boy, was I entertained.
That Last Moment With The Grenade Had Me On The Edge Of My Seat
This is just the icing on top of the cake, but dude – you have to laugh at how Santa takes out the last guy. It had me cheering, on the edge of my seat, and laughing all at the same time.
Literally grabbing his own grenade, sticking it into his jacket, walking away and then saying, “I gotta watch,” and turns around. In seconds, the man just explodes, and all you hear is Santa chuckling as he walks away.
That moment is going to be forever cemented into my brain because of not only the incredible ending to, hands down, one of the best action scenes of Violent Night, but to David Harbour’s performance as Santa. It’s no wonder fans loved him so much. It was just an all around great time.
Violent Night is in theaters now and if you haven’t seen it yet, I assure you, you need to. While this scene is definitely one of the best, there are so many amazing other ones in this film that just might make your top ten. No matter what, you'll have a great time. Ho, ho, ho.
