Deadly Games (1989) review – A cult classic French horror

Welcome to Knockout Horror. We are adding another entry to our Festive Frights feature today as we check out French horror movie Deadly Games (otherwise known as 3615 code Père Noël, Game Over, and Dial Code Santa Claus) from 1989. If you are looking for more Christmas horror, why not take a look at our Awful Advent category? It’s growing all the time and features tons of Christmas scares.

A Classic with Renewed Modern Interest

Deadly Games follows the story of incredibly resourceful child prodigy, Thomas (Alain Lalanne), as he attempts to defend himself from a home invader wearing a Santa outfit. Equipped with only his wits and a houseful of devilish inventions, it is up to Thomas to protect both his home and his Grandpa on Christmas Eve.

This movie has benefitted from some renewed interest, as of late. Thanks to the internet, films that might have flown under the radar a bit gain a cult following that they may never have found otherwise. Whether it is due to a particularly good performance, an unusual plot, a strange sense of humour, or a link to another, much more popular film, the internet has done a hell of a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to certain niche horror movies.

It’s with this in mind that we can safely say that Deadly Games, had it not been for word of mouth, would have been all but forgotten… An enjoyable action-horror movie set at Christmas that most in the Anglosphere would be completely unaware of. A footnote in the history of a much more popular series and, perhaps, a reference in a trivia entry on IMDb.

Thanks to the horror community, that’s not the case. Deadly Games is gaining popularity and a 2018 restoration by the American Genre Film Archive means that you can stroll along to Shudder, right now, and find this movie to watch with little to no effort. But what is it that makes Deadly Games so significant?

It’s a lot like Home Alone but far scarier

Reading the plot above, there is a more-than-zero-percent chance that Deadly Games sounds a little familiar. A young child defends his house from home invaders over the Christmas period using a collection of inventive devices of torture. We all know this one, right? It is, basically, the exact plot of the first Home Alone film.

“A young child defends his house from home invaders over the Christmas period using a collection of inventive devices of torture. We all know this one, right? It is, basically, the exact plot of the first Home Alone film.”

Indeed, the similarities are so strong that director René Manzor accused the Home Alone team of plagiarising his idea, stealing the concept for themselves and turning the movie into a megahit that has become an annual tradition in the homes of people who celebrate Christmas.

The truth of the matter is that Manzor was probably reaching a little when making his accusations towards the Home Alone team. It is hard to deny the similarities when it comes to the final 20 minutes of Deadly Games but, for the most part, they are quite different films.

In fact, it would be just as easy to accuse Deadly Games of copying many of the Hollywood movies that came before it when it comes to our protagonist, Thomas. He is your typical child prodigy who can drive, repair cars, invent gadgets, and set up a security system – sort of a French version of Data from The Goonies.

Home Alone is, predominantly, concerned with Kevin’s misadventures and childlike sense of adventure. Deadly Games plays out far closer to a traditional home-invasion thriller movie. There’s not much originality when it comes to entertainment, but I can’t blame Manzor for trying to get a slice of the profits.

But is it any good?

I think Deadly Games is one of those movies that benefits from something of a histrionic reaction by modern movie critics. It’s a good movie, but some of the glowing reviews are rather perplexing. It has plenty of feel-good moments and a decent amount of Christmas spirit, but it is hard not to feel like it occupies an uncomfortable space between being a kids’ film and being an adult action-horror. It feels fairly uneasy in its skin for much of its runtime.

“Patrick Floersheim stands out for his exceptionally creepy performance as our killer Santa. He is menacing and, genuinely, quite a scary antagonist.”

There’s a decent amount of gore and some fairly violent killings that make it ill-fitting of a movie for children, but I can’t shake the sense that it was, at least in some way, not entirely intended for adults, either. The setup is pretty ridiculous and Deadly Games requires the same amount of suspension of disbelief as Home Alone, maybe even more.

The idea that a small child could install trap doors into a large home and rig the entire house up with security systems that are way beyond the widely available tech at the time is pretty ridiculous. There’s a lot of use of slow motion which impacts the action a bit, and the movie feels a fair bit older than its actual age. This was an indie movie and it shows throughout. Pacing can be a bit off, and it feels a tad too long thanks to a few too many moments of downtime.

Still a very enjoyable watch

Still, there are plenty of positives. Some of the home-invasion scenes are quite tense, and Tommy’s inventions are brutally devious. Whereas the movie doesn’t inspire the same sense of pity that you will feel for the villains in Home Alone, due to the absolute torture they go through, you will still be wincing at some of the stuff that happens here.

“Thomas is a very likable kid and never once comes across as overbearing or annoying. He shares a somewhat similar relationship with his Grandpa as Charlie does with that bastard Uncle Joe.”

Thomas is a very likable kid and never once comes across as overbearing or annoying. He shares a somewhat similar relationship with his Grandpa as Charlie does with that bastard Uncle Joe in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and it is rather touching at times. It is very easy to root for them both, and the feel-good vibes are pretty strong, as they should be in a Christmas movie like this.

Patrick Floersheim stands out for his exceptionally creepy performance as our killer Santa. He is menacing and, genuinely, quite a scary antagonist. He would be perfectly fitting in any 70s or 80s horror with his constantly moving, slow but deliberate pursuit of Thomas. Deadly Games actually manages to be quite tense on a number of occasions.

Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight

Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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