''3615 code Père Noël'' (, "3615 code

Father Christmas Father Christmas is the traditional English name for the personification of Christmas. Although now known as a Christmas gift-bringer, and typically considered to be synonymous with Santa Claus, he was originally part of a much older and unrela ...

", referring to a

Minitel The Minitel, officially known as TELETEL, was an interactive videotex online service accessible through telephone lines. It was the world's first and most successful mass-market online service prior to the World Wide Web. It was developed in Ces ...

dialing number; also known as ''Deadly Games'', ''Dial Code Santa Claus'', ''Game Over'', and ''Hide and Freak'') is a 1989 French

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

written and directed by René Manzor. It is noted for its similarities to the 1990 American film ''

Home Alone ''Home Alone'' is a 1990 American Christmas comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dar ...

'', the makers of which Manzor once threatened with legal action on the grounds of

plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...

, alleging they "remade my movie."

Plot

Thomas de Frémont, a child prodigy obsessed with tinkering and action films, lives in a secluded and high-tech castle with his widowed mother, Julie, his diabetic and partially blind grandfather, Papy, and his pet dog, J.R. On Christmas Eve, Thomas uses the

to try and communicate with

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

and unknowingly makes contact with a derelict who is using a public Minitel terminal. The deranged man claims to be Santa and attempts to get Thomas to divulge his address; before their connection is severed, the vagrant learns Thomas's mother manages a nearby

Printemps Printemps is a French luxury department store chain founded in 1865, which focuses on beauty, lifestyle, fashion and accessories. The flagship store "le Printemps Haussmann" is located on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Pari ...

. While Thomas sets up a security system to record or capture Santa, the vagabond gets a job as a Santa at the Printemps but is fired from it after Julie witnesses him slap a child who accused him of not being the real Santa. The vagrant subsequently steals a Santa suit, paints his hair and beard white, and hitches a ride to Julie's home in the back of a delivery van, the driver of which he kills upon reaching the de Frémont residence. The man then murders Julie's groundskeeper and her chef, breaks into her home through the chimney, and stabs J.R. to death in front of Thomas, who is convinced the intruder is an enraged Santa. What follows is a game of cat and mouse as Thomas uses his security system and booby traps, as well as an arsenal of makeshift weaponry, to defend his enfeebled grandfather and combat the trespasser, who has cut the telephone lines and trashed the only car; the man at one point catches Thomas but then lets him go while declaring, "I win. You lose. Now I hide and you seek. Okay?" Julie, concerned over her calls home not getting through, phones the police, who send an officer to the castle to check on Thomas and Papy. The vagrant murders the policeman and recaptures Thomas, but the boy is saved when his grandfather shoots his assailant with the dead officer's gun, with Julie arriving home seconds later to find a stunned Thomas standing over the killer's body, stammering, "It's my fault, Mom. I wanted to see Santa Claus."

Cast

Release

In 2018, the film had its North American premiere at the

Fantastic Fest Fantastic Fest is an annual film festival in Austin, Texas, focused on fantasy, horror, sci-fi, action and cult films, the largest genre festival in the United States. It was founded in 2005 by Tim League of Alamo Drafthouse. Lisa Dreyer ...

in Austin, Texas, after having been restored by American Genre Film Archive.

Reception

René Manzor won Best Director and Best Film at the 1990

Fantafestival The Mostra internazionale del film di fantascienza e del fantastico (English: ''International Science Fiction and Fantasy Film Show''), commonly known as Fantafestival, is a film festival devoted to science fiction, fantasy and horror film tha ...

. John Squires of

Bloody Disgusting Bloody Disgusting is an American independent multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news website specializing in information services that covered various horror media. The company expanded into other media including podcast ...

gave ''Deadly Games'' a glowingly positive review, heaping praise on its setting, cinematography, the relationships between its characters, and its sinister villain before concluding, "''Deadly Games'' doesn't shy away from going to nightmarish places, but it's also got that holiday warmth you just love to see in Christmas movies." In a review written for

Dread Central Dread Central is an American website founded in 2006 that is dedicated to horror news, interviews, and reviews. It covers horror films, comics, novels, and toys. Dread Central has won the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Website f ...

, Tyler Doupe opined that while the film was "far-fetched in almost every way imaginable" it was still "an awful lot of fun" and "the kind of movie that wants you to turn off your brain and enjoy." Angel Melanson of ''

Fangoria ''Fangoria'' is an internationally distributed American horror film fan magazine, in publication since 1979. It is published four times a year by Fangoria Publishing, LLC and is edited by Phil Nobile Jr. The magazine was originally released i ...

'' was complimentary towards the film, writing, "if this isn't already in your top three holiday horror rotation, get on it" and further stating, "Paying homage to American action movies of the '80s, with clever gadgets, a truly horrifying killer Santa, and booby traps (pre-dating Christmas classic ''

''), whatever your chosen title is for this one, it's a guaranteed good time." The "crazy and out-there" film was awarded a score of 6/10 by Jason Adams of

JoBlo.com JoBlo.com is an anchor website of the JoBlo Movie Network focused on news, film reviews, and film trailers. The network has YouTube channels that focus on trailers, movie clips, celebrity interviews, original content, and film distribution. H ...

, who commended its action set-pieces and its realistic child protagonist, writing, "Thomas may be a badass

Rambo Rambo may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *John Rambo, the main character from the ''Rambo'' franchise * Mary Rambo, female character in '' Invisible Man'' Films * ''Rambo'' (franchise), starring Sylvester St ...

Jr. with some of the tricks up his sleeve, but the movie never lets you forget that he's also a child suffering real injuries and crying for his mom. It's a brutal but unique spin to this kind of horror flick, one that you can't believe the filmmakers actually went for." Peter Martin of

ScreenAnarchy ScreenAnarchy, previously known as Twitch Film or Twitch, is a Canadian English-language website featuring news and reviews of mainly international, independent and cult films. The website was founded in 2004 by Todd Brown. In addition to films, ...

offered high praise to ''Deadly Games'', writing, "I was utterly bowled over with happiness. Sure, it's your standard clever kid vs Santa Claus home invasion tale (?!), made before ''Home Alone'', but it's exceptionally smart, funny and kinda fiendish too. It's a great family action movie for families who hate the holidays." Rafael Motamayor of ''

Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...

'' commended the "

slasher horror A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic ...

" film's "emotional stakes" and how it "fluctuates between whimsy children's humor and horror, using the kid-friendly first half to lure you into the horrors to come."

References

External links

* *
Article
at ''

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogra ...