Violent Night

A bitter and jaded Santa Claus has become so fed up with centuries of enabling mankind's materialism and greed that he intends to retire after finishing this year's Christmas deliveries. In Greenwich, Connecticut, Jason Lightstone and his estranged wife Linda take their 10-year-old daughter Gertrude ("Trudy") to his mother Gertrude's mansion for a Christmas gathering. Other family members there are Jason's sister Alva, her boyfriend Morgan Steel, and her 18-year-old son Bertrude ("Bert"). Jason and Linda overhear Trudy's Christmas wish for family unity via an old walkie-talkie Jason gave her, claiming it lets her talk to Santa. Meanwhile, Santa arrives at the estate. However, a group of mercenaries with holiday-themed codenames, led by "Mr. Scrooge", raid the house, kill the security detail as well as staff members, and take the family hostage.

The mercenary "Tinsel" finds the hiding Santa; Santa kills him, but his reindeer are frightened off the roof by gunfire during the fight. Stranded, Santa resolves to rescue Trudy and her family from Scrooge, who is after $300 million in cash hidden in a vault in the mansion. After killing "Frosty", Santa takes his radio and finds Trudy's channel, also discovering that Scrooge and his henchmen are on his naughty list. Trudy manages to run past the kidnappers and hides in the attic. Santa reassures her over the radio, revealing to her his ancient Viking past as "Nicomund the Red".