“Night without peace”: the Christmas movie that combines “Die Hard” with Santa Claus

The average Hollywood studio is no longer looking for a great movie. Or, rather, it is not looking for just that. Each movie should have the potential to launch not just sequels, but prequels, spin-offs, and even TV series to keep viewers on all screens. If it works for Disney with Marvel Comics, why not for others? While some attempts thrive, like Lionsgate’s John Wick saga, others fail, like Universal’s Dark Universe. But this latest study seems to have struck gold with a theme that has been present in cinema almost since its inception: Christmas.

Directed by the Norwegian Tommy Wirkola, “Night without peace” (“Violent Night”, 2022) does not pretend to invent gunpowder. From Conception is a twist on the typical Christmas redemption film, where characters in a complicated phase of their lives need the celebration to get back on track or start over. Only this story puts a character unrelated to violence, Santa Claus (Papa Noel, as we know him here), as a brutal hero in the style of John McClane (Bruce Willis) in “Die Hard.”

Santa Claus came to town (to kill)

In conversation with this newspaper, Wirkola acknowledged the influence of “Die Hard” on his film, due to the tone of the film, which combines action and comedy, as well as the performance of the hero. “John McClane is interesting because he’s real, he feels real, down to earth. He is not perfect and on the way he gets hurt ”, tells us. And that’s what happens with Harbor’s Santa Claus, who despite having “Christmas magic” on his side, is at the end of the day a man who, if you stab or shoot, bleeds. Unusual settings for this character, but in the contrast is the grace.

“I think it’s always fun to take something, or someone everyone knows, and give it a slight twist to offer something new and fun and crazy. And obviously Santa Claus is such an iconic figure, so important to so many people around the world. So it was fun to find a new way to represent him and make him an action hero. I think the writers did a great job anchoring that, giving him a story that makes sense, making it real and plausible that he could take on 20 mercenaries and win.“, said.

Similarly, the filmmaker had words of appreciation for the protagonist, David Harbour, who became internationally known in recent years for his portrayal of police chief Jim Hopper in “Stranger Things.” “It has a physical presence. He can do the fights, train and kick ass, which was the key element. No matter who you choose to be Santa Claus, he must have a big heart. David had all of those things and more, he was the perfect Santa and created a new kind of Santa that we hadn’t seen before.“, said.

How Scrooge stole Christmas (and the money)

But, just as the Santa Claus of “Silent Night” would be the equivalent of John McClane, this character would only make sense if he has a fearful, intelligent antagonist; like Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber. That is where Scrooge (John Leguizamo) comes in, a thief whose hand does not tremble to kill innocent people and who has planned to the millimeter the perfect robbery of the Lightstone family. What he never planned is that a magical being would appear to confront him.

When asked if Rickman’s character influenced him in his work, Leguizamo answered yes. “Rickman to me was a great actor. And thanks for the comparison, because yes, I tried to make a very intelligent villain and even though the audience doesn’t like me, and of course they’re going to hate me, (I prefer) that they respect me. That was my big goal”, the actor tells us in a forced, but discernible Spanish. He insists that he tried to maintain a sense of danger throughout the film, so that his character would not be the typical villain of a family movie without common sense.

What future awaits this film? The unpredictable audiences will judge her. Either because of the humor or because of how it fits into the tradition of Christmas cinema, which has had its unusual papanoeles, such as Hulk Hogan in “Santa with muscles” or Billy Bob Thornton in “Bad Santa”. Although in both cases without so many extremes.