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| Lewis |
Violent Night: (Dominic Lewis) Ever since the
opening scene of the 1988 film
Scrooged, there has lingered an
unfulfilled desire to see Santa Clause battle an army of assassins with
machine guns on a snowy Christmas night. The 2022 comedy action caper
Violent Night strives to scratch that itch while also providing a
surprisingly wholesome family story on the side. In an obvious parody
combination of
Die Hard and
Home Alone, the movie telling
of a heavily armed gang of mercenaries that takes over the estate of a
wealthy family, seeking to plunder hundreds of millions of dollars in
the mansion's vault. Unfortunately for them, the real-life magical and
drunken Santa Claus is delivering presents to that home during the
assault and gets caught up in the fight after his reindeer on the roof
are scared off by a spray of gunfire. He spends the rest of the picture
killing bad guys as expected but also restoring faith in his own
Christmas traditions and healing the bond of the family targeted. The
movie struggles to balance its yearning for a Hallmark ending with the
brutal and gory killings along the way, but audiences and critics found
it amusing enough to praise. Its premise promises to make
Violent
Night something of a cult guilty pleasure for future Christmas
viewings, and part of its appeal is definitely owed to its extremely
effective soundtrack. A wide variety of pop and classically-oriented
Christmas carols are employed throughout the film, often as source-like
background music. Incorporating some of these selections into his
original work for the film is composer Dominic Lewis, and while the
filmmakers had originally contemplated a more hard-edged approach to the
score, they eventually settled upon a very traditional orchestral sound
that serves a parody purpose in context. The movie's insistence upon
supplying a tender, family-friendly conclusion also required Lewis to
crank up the sappiness factor, yielding music more substantial than but
largely similar in tone and instrumentation to his concurrent score for
Spirited. The blend of favorite Yuletide carols with his own
thematic material is very adept in
Violent Night, combining the
parody chops of Theodore Shapiro with the shamelessly overflowing heart
of Mark McKenzie for an outstanding holiday romp, easily one of the most
unique holiday scores of all time.
For Lewis,
Violent Night comes at a time when he
had already intrigued with his breadth of exploration in
The King's
Man and
Bullet Train, the composer taking his experience as
an associate of Henry Jackman and parlaying that into a series of
impressively varied scores that themselves utilize a team of arrangers
reporting to Lewis. Of the arrangers for
Violent Night, Daniel
Futcher is credited with the most influence on the score via six cues.
With his 2022 efforts, Lewis has graduated to new level of production,
with
Violent Night as the pinnacle of those efforts. This score
is not only refreshing from a creativity standpoint, it's well executed
in its spotting, development, and blend of moderately sized orchestral
and choir. Electronic accompaniment is minimal. The application of
metallic percussion for the Christmas spirit is pervasive, sleigh bells,
tambourines, and handbell sounds all lending credibility to the
atmosphere. The ensemble isn't particularly resounding (it surely needed
more reverb for a
Lesbian Vampire Killers kind of effect), but it
does shine when paired with the choral layers that are dominated by male
voices across the spectrum. Santa is often represented by brass while
the villains are treated to woodwinds, especially bassoons. Militaristic
percussion provides light but adequate muscularity to action cues.
Celeste and strings join softer choral shades for the story's family. In
this usage, Lewis manages to ape the basic sounds of Michael Kamen's
Die Hard (most notably in "Al Gets Scrooged," "Baah Humbug
Motherf**ker," and "Snow Way Out," with some straight temp-track
emulation of the Kamen score's assault material pretty obvious), Alan
Silvestri's more brutal vintage action edge ("Empty Stocking" and "Baah
Humbug Motherf**ker"), John Williams'
Home Alone action ("Fight
Lights"), and even a touch of Anne-Kathrin Dern's trio of
The Claus
Family scores ("Spewtiful"). Some of the more conservatively pretty
sequences remind of Mark McKenzie and John Debney proficiency in
pleasant familial tones. The infusion of carols within the confines of
the score includes "Silent Night," "Deck the Halls," "The Twelve Days of
Christmas," "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," "Ding Dong Merrily on
High," and "Jingle Bells," and Lewis' handling of these melodies is
remarkably keen. Cues like "Spewtiful," "Jingle Bells," "Cookies &
Brandy," "Baah Humbug Motherf**ker," and "Feliz Navi-Dead" make obvious
use of these traditional pieces, but they're sprinkled in fragments
everywhere.
For casual viewers of the film, the carols applied within
the score may not seem too strategically removed from the song versions
of those melodies heard several times in
Violent Night. The
"Deck the Halls" score performance in "Spewtiful," for instance, follows
the depiction of Santa Claus vomiting outside a tavern as the main title
is shown, and it's clearly there for laughs. In "Feliz Navi-Dead," Lewis
utilizes "Ding Dong Merrily on High" vocals mixed in a muted source-like
background position during part of the cue before bringing its mix in
line with the rest of the score. One carol, "The Twelve Days of
Christmas," is actually applied as a motif specific to one group of
characters; otherwise, the carols are spotted in the score to punctuate
particular ironies or other elements in the story. Along with these
favorites is a set of themes provided by Lewis for
Violent Night,
though only one idea really takes hold in the score. The composer
revisits his main theme for Santa Claus and the film so many times that
the work may sound somewhat monothematic to some listeners. It's a
hopeful and redemptive identity, highlighted by repeated, ascending
three-note phrases, and Lewis works wonders with the malleability of the
idea. Heard immediately on piano and acoustic guitar in "Spewtiful," the
theme expands fully on choir at 1:15 with vibrant metallic percussion.
It dances at 0:25 into "Secret Santa" on woodwinds and later solo horn
with restrained optimism, shifting back to a comedically cheery and
drunk personality at 1:38 into "Cookies & Brandy." The main theme shows
its versatility in "Baah Humbug Motherf**ker," interrupting the villain
material on tuba at 1:37 and 2:34 and turning heroic on horns and choir
at 2:04 and 3:00 before becoming cutely suspenseful amongst the carols
at 2:54. It goes into full action mode at 0:25 into "Fight Lights" with
good cheer, is fragmented early in "Santa, Are You There?" but gains
resolve as the cue goes on, adopts a menacing posture on low woodwinds
at 0:30 into "Frostbite," and opens "Nice List" with tender hope. The
theme counters the villains' rhythm at 1:05 into "Santa Claus is Coming
to Town" and intriguingly goes darkly liturgical for choir and banging
metallic accents in the origins cue of "Nicumond the Red" before
shifting to a Williams-like celeste and flute performance at 2:48 into
that cue. It occupies much of "Christmas Magic" in lighter tones,
supplies suspenseful allusions at the outset and conclusion of "Snow Way
Out," and turns completely around with flowery and ethereal tones to
start "For Goodness Flake" and moves to a light comedy mode later.
The main theme of
Violent Night receives even
wilder swings in emotional purpose in the final third of the film,
setting it up to be the wholesome hero identity by the end. After a
stoic horn at 0:44 into "Season's Beatings," it provides upbeat bursts
with choir at 1:42 and 2:14. This chipper attitude continues at 2:49
into "Filthy Animals," expanding on big choral performances at 3:16 and
closing the cue with lovely spirit from those singers. The theme opens
"Feliz Navi-Dead" with an extension of the previous cue's charming tone
but segues into action mode in several fragments mixed with carols,
finally triumphing in full hero bravado at 3:33 as it mixes heavily with
the "Ding Dong Merrily on High" carol. It occupies 0:13 into "Kissmas
Wish" in ensemble fantasy mode and barely informs the action late in
"Naughty List," but expect to be impressed by Lewis' culmination of the
theme in "Winter's Night." In that highlight cue, the composer presents
the main theme in hugely resolute and religious form at 0:13 on brass
over forceful chanting, several lyrical choral performances by various
male tones ensuing thereafter. The flowing rendition at 1:38 into
"Winter's Night" with anticipatory harmonies underneath is magnificent.
The solo horn version of the theme recurs early in "Violent Night"
before handing the melody to the woodwinds, mingling with "Silent Night"
redemption at the midpoint before a lovely send-off. Lewis continues its
lighter performances in "HO HO HO," building to a notable choral and
celeste performance before more of "Silent Night" is reprised. He
concludes the score with a boisterous and gorgeous ensemble performance
of the theme for lofty closure. This main theme does have an interlude
phrase that recurs many times in
Violent Night, its descending
progressions pretty and wholesome. Introduced by bassoon at 0:21 into
"Spewtiful," this interlude recurs at 0:57 into "Nice List" on strings,
1:14 into "Season's Beatings" on oboe and flute, and franticly at 2:56
into "Feliz Navi-Dead." After a very brief reference at 0:27 into
"Winter's Night," it takes a bow in lightly dramatic tones at 0:43 into
"Violent Night," where it borrows some magic from Alan Menken's
Beauty and the Beast. Interestingly, Lewis seems to have opted
not to score the family or the little girl at its heart with any
memorable theme. He does start to softly explore a possible avenue for
the girl at the outset of "Secret Santa" on piano, but that idea is
never explicitly developed later. Rather, it is the main theme for Santa
Claus (and, notably, its interlude) that is provided for some placements
where a family theme may have been equally appropriate.
The handling of the villains in
Violent Night is
satisfying though not always melodically tight. The bassoons often carry
evil intent for all characters, and slapping militaristic percussion
provides the machine gun-wielding bastards their necessary credentials.
A rolling rhythmic motif develops at 0:11 into "Seven Snipers Sniping"
for these baddies, but the carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas" comes to
define the mercenaries at 0:07 into "Al Gets Scrooged" and beyond. The
rhythms continue at 0:35 into "Baah Humbug Motherf**ker," becoming
aggressive and domineering while a descending motif on top begins to
consolidate. The melody of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" returns at
2:12 in sinister shades, shifting briefly to "We Wish You a Merry
Christmas" a few times at the end of the cue for good humor. The
villains' general tone haunts the first half of "Santa, Are You There?"
and is slowed and deconstructed in "Frostbite" and early in "Santa Claus
is Coming to Town." As action takes the forefront, the rhythm marches in
the first half of "Snow Way Out" and stomps early in "Empty Stocking,"
"The Twelve Days of Christmas" returning again in the latter half.
Lewis' original material opens "Filthy Animals" but yields once more to
extensive "The Twelve Days of Christmas" variants, additional fragments
of the carol sprinkled throughout "Feliz Navi-Dead" while the rhythm
struggles against the main theme. The rhythm bursts for a few moments in
"Kissmas Wish" and is twisted into a comically prancing sequence early
in "HO HO HO." A silly henchmen motif is a high woodwind figure heard
throughout "Frostbite," and it recurs at 0:27 into "Santa Claus is
Coming to Town," 0:42 into "Snow Way Out," and in faint hints early in
"Season's Beatings" before becoming a massive stinger at 0:45 into
"Naughty List." But it's the main theme that dominates
Violent
Night, and Lewis masterfully weaves it in and out of "The Twelve
Days of Christmas" for the villains and the other carols elsewhere.
There is no weak cue in the score, Lewis maintaining the charming parody
spirit even when the villains' militaristic rhythms prevail. The album
containing Lewis' score does not feature the licensed songs but offers
his original supplements with funny lyrics, some of which entertaining
in their retro demeanor. Hearing the main theme adapted into a 1950's
jingle in "Ting a Ling Dong Ding" isn't as endearing as the 1960's rock
parody in "Santa Claus Has Had Enough of Christmas." The entire package
is not only impressively palatable but engagingly bright. Kamen
enthusiasts may not appreciate hearing
Die Hard music pilfered
with such zeal, but the mere fact that Lewis went there is a tremendous
positive. The carol adaptations and grand tonal fantasy for the main
theme are the icing on this ridiculously fun parody cake.
***** @Amazon.com: CD or
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