The first look at David Harbour as a murderous Santa Claus in new holiday thriller Jim Hopper on Netflix's Stranger Things, for which he earned both Emmy and Golden Globe award nominations. While his work on the acclaimed television series is noteworthy, Harbour has also often crossed over into the realm of major motion pictures, portraying the titular character in 2019's Hellboy and Red Guardian in Marvel's Black Widow.
The premise of the Violent Night sees a team of elite mercenaries break into a wealthy family's compound on Christmas Eve. The intruders subsequently take everyone hostage when suddenly Santa bursts in to save Christmas. Harbour ed the Violent Night cast as the leading deranged Santa in November 2021, with Tommy Wirkola set to sit in the director's chair. Filming on the project began in February 2022, and Harbour's Santa in Violent Night will be ed by roles played by John Leguizamo, Beverly D’Angelo, Edi Patterson, Alex Haskell, Cam Gigandet, and Alexis Louder.
Now, the first look at Harbour as a murderous Santa in the holiday thriller has been revealed at this year's CinemaCon. While the first-look footage has not yet been made public, Screen Rant was in attendance to get an initial glimpse at the Violent Night footage. The footage begins with the classic poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas," and shots of families preparing for Christmas when, suddenly, thieves raid the home. The family appears helpless, and Christmas is seemingly turned upside down until Harbour's Santa shows up and brutally attacks the robbers. The self-proclaimed "Jolly ol' Saint Nick" arrives wielding a sledgehammer, beats one of the intruders with a sock stuffed with pool balls, and electrocutes another bandit with a Christmas star. And as if Habour's murderous Santa was not bad enough, his elves are by his side every step of the way.
Violent Night appears to be only the latest in a growing collection of twisted Christmas-themed films. The notorious Bad Santa films starring Billy Bob Thornton conjure up their own brand of twisted, while films such as Krampus delve into a much darker and creepier take on the holiday. Violent Night appears to be leaning more towards the horrifying Krampus genre, interwoven with the action-packed thrill ride of a John Wick movie. Since Deadpool 2 director David Leitch is behind the film as a producer, there is no doubt that Violent Night will bolster its fair share of thrills.
Based on Violent Night's first-look description, audiences are likely in for a wild holiday adventure. The notion of encountering a murderous, sledgehammer-wielding Santa Claus is likely intriguing enough to fill out seats in theaters upon the film's release. Harbour's casting as an evil Santa only adds to the fun, since the actor is now well known for his gruff, action-heavy roles. As it stands, Violent Night looks set to release in theaters just in time for Christmas on December 2, 2022.
