MOVIE REVIEW: DEADLY GAMES

Deadly Games from 1989 is a film of many names. Also known as Dial Code Santa Claus, Game Over, Hide and Freak and its original French title of 3615 Code Pere Noel. As you can see by the original name it would be a bit difficult to market, even in France where the 3615 code was used on early public internet terminals to message Santa aka Pere Noel (Father Christmas) and even with that knowledge you wouldn’t know this was a horror slasher by title alone. So it’s no surprise it became Deadly Games here in the states.

Written and directed by Rene Manzor the film establishes the main players quite quickly introducing first the film’s antagonist Pere Noel as a seemingly regular guy sans Santa outfit who may or man not be creepy and the loving family he will soon menace. This includes our main hero Thomas a child prodigy, his beloved, legally blind grandfather Papy, his hard working, widowed moth Julie and his loyal dog JR.

Of note in this film is the writing and acting. These characters all feel very real including the killer. The family are all very loving to one another and supportive which really drives up the stakes and tension when things get dangerous but until then you have to admire how solid they are as a family. Though mom runs a large mega department store and is very successful and busy she never neglects her family. Both she and her father indulge her genius son’s hijinks but they always manage to keep him grounded. In another context this would be a memorable feel good family movie.

That is not the case, however, as our antagonist Pere Noel gets fired from being a mall Santa and fixates on “playing” with Thomas. Happily this is not just some generic slasher villain but a character in his own right who is only fully understood by the end of the film. A true sympathetic villain but one that must absolutely be dealt with for the safety of others. All the actors involved do a wonderful job with the rich material they are given to work with.

While you can’t help but compare it to Home Alone in its themes with a child defending himself from intruders during Christmas this was released a year prior to that film. And unlike Kevin, Thomas who seems like he is absolutely going to have plot armor is very much in peril. He has emotional breakdowns as he witnesses horrible things, so you never forget he is a 10 yr old struggling to save himself and his disabled grandfather. Alain Lalanne as Thomas gives the kind of performance that few child actors can deliver. Every moment is utterly convincing, from being precocious, to loving to terrified. I must also note that Patrick Floershein plays the Pere Noel killer with incredibly subtle nuance and has you guessing as to his motivations until the reveal in the final act.

The film is beautifully shot with well thought out sequences and angles in a variety of locations to enhance both drama, menace and disorientation as required. The production value is also stellar with fab ould set dressing and designs for Thomas’ home and I loved the use of miniatures for wide exteriors of his practically fairy tale mansion of a house. It really adds to both the magical whimsy and the gothic horror of this almost Brothers Grimmesque tale. And that’s not hyperbole with allusions to saints, ogres, magical rules learned and broken, mysterious hideaways, faithful animals and child heroes.

This film is so well done it’s become an instant favorite of mine. It is always fascinating to dive into films produced in other lands and France is not known for its horror with the early 2000s being a high point with offerings like High Tension and Inside. I cannot recommend this film enough, it captures the American 80s slasher genre so well but still is very much its own thing cinematically and culturally.

5 out of 5