36.15 code Père Noël

This quite recently newly unearthed holiday fun has many names, "Game Over", "Deadly Games", "Dial Code Santa Claus", "36:15 Code Father Christmas", but there ain't many doubts about being a stylish, hearty and odd little French adventure. And yes, the blueprint of "Home Alone", which came out a year later, is indeed about the same, but there are plenty of plot, genre and tonal differences.

Playful, resourceful, smart and full-of-wonder Thomas loves to play Rambo at home, and to take care and play with his close-to-heart grandpa, or Papy. It is Christmas day, and Thomas's mom has gone to work at the mall, where a creepy, mysterious bearded man, who seemingly just wants some love, is scaring kids as an impostor mall Santa. When he is let go, the certifiable killer nature of Santa clashes out at Thomas and his grandpa, and all three are now locked in a game of survival...

The beginning of the movie got me excited, not so much Thomas and his action, but the look and performance of Patrick Floersheim as the Santa Claus, the man can be eerie and looks absolutely fabulous as a killer Santa later in the film, props to the costume designers and make-up department. Immediately I was excited for a great Villain character, so a little of my disappointment lies in the fact that "Game Over" relies a lot on action and dramatic, stylized sequences, offering absolutely no back-story for Santa, giving him no clear motivations, and very few speaking lines. Visually striking villain at all times, substantially - not so much.

That action though is pretty cool, especially given the fact that this is an indie of the 80's. In the matters of style, "Deadly Games" is almost an overkill, cinematography is varied (and with lots of tilted angles), editing is pretty neat and energetic, almost as energetic as the synth orchestra soundtrack. Atmospherically and visually "Game Over" also reminded me of "The Crow", weird, I know, but not because of any substance, but the sets. Most of this film takes place in a mansion that from outside looks like Dracula's castle, and inside has half-vintage-like interior, big, dark spaces, etc., the set design really got me reminiscing on "The Crow". A gothic sort of vibe.

Thomas is a good kid, a sympathetic kid, and together with Papy they are the heart of this movie, so both the good and the evil in "Deadly Games" entertains and amuses, and brings solid acting to the table. The biggest flaws are still in the story, it plays out the first way one can imagine, not a lot of surprises. No extra story thread was worked on. The other flaw, and a plus at the same time, is action, it's funny because I said the film relies on it a lot, but here comes in the dramatic flair of these filmmakers... Plenty of action sequences are short and sweet in the core idea, but made longer and way dramatic frequently, slow-mo's, epic music, dramatic eye close-up and so forth. In the end it feels like an amazing looking sandwich lacking just a little filler.

"Game Over" is definitely a seasonal horror (perhaps less horror than You expect) to check out, killer Santa ticks the box big time, and the rest is up to You to check out. "Home Alone" can do without its tenth re-watch. My rating: 6/10.

It's been awhile I have seen this film but from what I can remember when I saw it as a kid: I liked it. A small boy is left (with or without babysitter? I don't remember) alone at home (huge mansion) while his parents attend a dinner party on christmas eve. The boy named Thomas thinks he is safe until a burglar dressed in Santa Claus decides to drop in and do some christmas shopping. So now begins this cat & mouse game as Thomas is determined to defend himself and his home. Think more in the lines of "Rambo kid Home Alone without that Culkin brat". Good film from what I can remember and I'm still trying to find a copy of this french film. Perhaps I liked it because I was about the same age as the hero of the film who had these self-made weapons, cool gadgets and was fighting against this psycho santa claus dressed burglar.

For those who wonder what 36.15 is: it's not the code for "Pere Noel" (Santa Claus) but in France it's like a "teletext" or "internet/bbs" function back in the 80's/early 90's. Basically you type in 36.15 and then a "name/word" (e.g. 36.15 CINEMA) and you can find info. Sort of like an electronic yellow pages server.

36.15 code Père Noël has become more famous in recent years for the similarities to Home Alone; so much so that director and writer, René Manzor threatened plagiarism. Both films feature a smart, middle/upper class kid alone in a house of traps stalked by a crazy lunatic. In 36.15 it is an unhinged store Santa who is armed with a cake knife. In Home Alone, two bumbling house burglars known as the Sticky Bandits.

36.15 code Père Noël starts off appearing like a family friendly film with our protagonist dressed as Rambo and talking to his Grandpa. What follows are some scenes of shocking violence, not 18 rated slasher standard, but fairly bloody. The Santa is surprisingly menacing and with the use of some good cinematography and suspense, René Manzor manages to create a fairly scary film which is equal parts horror and thriller.

The film reminded a bit of home invasion films like Funny Games (1997) and killer Santa films like the absurd Silent Night, Deadly Night - it's nowhere near as nasty as those. It's fun seeing the different traps Thomas sets (plastic rubber arrows doused in petrol, a toy grenade). Some people could see it as a dark comedy. It's not a must see and it's not as good as the like of Black Christmas or even Home Alone, but it is well worth a watch.

No matter what story one believes - Game Over released in 1989, a year before Home Alone. The resemblance of the movies is not only striking, it becomes difficult to believe that John Hughes didn't use this film as inspiration for his classic Christmas tale. He claimed he came up with the idea (a year before) while on a European family vacation. Hmmm.... pretty interesting that this film released, in Europe, a year before Home Alone. The timeline may in fact be too tight for this to even be logically possible, so I'm not completely ruling out coincidence.

How about this movie? It's a more mature Home Alone, with an early 80's action movie look. The setting and characters are (mostly) contrived, and to buy in the viewer has to suspend a lot of disbelief. A family mansion (the main location) has this absurd, mouse trap, set up due to a brilliant child's handy work. It helps his folks are/were ultra rich toy manufacturers - flooding their child with toys and gizmos, while also allowing free reign of home modifications.

The one character who really stands apart from the others is the villain. He's portrayed as a truly mentally damaged individual, who seems to have good intentions, but due to his outcast nature, is never accepted, and feels compelled to do dark things. But even at the villains worst, his character has real humanity that makes his journey in this film, quite tragic. Never quite so much that your rooting interest changes from protagonist to antagonist - but by the end, I saw him as a complex/tragic character, not a single dimensional killer.

Which is a very odd mix of content in a movie that clearly has funny moments, and is built on entertainment.

I wouldn't consider this a Christmas film in any sense other than the films setting. The time of year is a backdrop for the events, and really the film does little to embellish, or critique the holidays. I would also consider this a flaw of the film, where all aspects should serve the story completely.

Game Over may be worth finding and watching for fans of 80's action movies and maybe if your interested in seeing a more mature version of Home Alone. But big fans of Home Alone (I suspect) would not be to high on this movie. Why? It does not have the light feel, humor, or clean Hollywood production values.

a slightly above average film, but marked up to a 7/10 due to it's unique nature.

one last note: I always hope a film maker like this takes off after a film like this, but it wasn't the case. At best Rene Manzor has continued to work, but there appears to be no continuation of this films inspiration or vision. I'm just disappointed this film maker doesn't have a few more outlandish films made after this one. This movie should have informed producers of this guys clear ability as director.

I found this to be an underrated Christmas horror movie that I have seen. The story is simple with a kid having to survive against the deranged man dressed as Santa Claus. It's built-up pretty well and is never boring throughout. I do like how the movie is the kid trying to survive against the deranged man while protecting his grandfather. The movie does a great job of being a thriller with its suspense, with him surviving and fighting back against the villain and his plans to survive. He comes up with smart ways to fight back against the villain and knows his way around the house. But the villain also sometimes outsmart the main character to show how he's more threatening than being a creepier and a killer. While there are times that the movie is predictable, it doesn't hurt the movie all that much. And the movie has a suspenseful climax to it.