 Thanks for checking out this movie review. This is for the 1989 French horror film although IMDb calls it friend action horror thriller film Deadly games aka dial code Santa Claus aka game over. Yes. It has three separate titles. So You know, it is what it is. We'll get into that a little bit. So I have to apologize off the off the bat. You may be able to tell I have workout clothes on I'm sweating. I'm not sweating because I watched cops. Does anyone get that reference stepbrothers? Yeah, so Sorry, I'm sweaty. I'm more disheveled than usual. So sorry I just kind of have to fit these reviews in kind of where I can because I'm I have a busy life But I still love doing these things. I want to make sure I do them So anyway, let's talk about this when I saw that shutter just added this film I got very excited because I know I've talked about it before on another video at least one other one My wife does 25 Christmas movies in a in a December just like I do 31 horror movies in October So sometimes I can talk her into her into doing a horror Christmas movie in December And so she agreed to this one Deadly games And I think she had a good time watching it because you know, it's an absurd type film plus It's from the 80s. So like we both find 80s films fun for you know, various reasons But I think she had a good time with it. She had a lot of questions like why is this happening? This doesn't make any sense. That's the 80s man. That's how it was So let's get into a little bit of this on shutter when I'm doing this review It's currently on shutter So this film has three names like I talked about Deadly games Which I believe is the name that it was really standard in the United States Which is why that's the primary title it has on shutter Gameover is another another title. I don't know in what capacity that applies And then dial code Santa Claus is the one I believe is the actual translation from the French title of the film It was written and directed by a man by the name of Renee Manzer Who did some episodes actually he directed some of the episodes of the young Indiana Jones TV series Which I watched when I was a kid and that was a good show I think Rivers Phoenix was Indiana Jones in that Unfortunately, he died quite young Don't do drugs people Manzer actually this is interesting go to IMDb and look up Renee Manzer if you know not it's man Zor He has his demo reel on IMDb Literally and it's just like snippets from films. He's done so check that out I think it's kind of funny because most of the times when you go to people's Like individual directors or writers pages. They don't have things like that, but he has a demo reel So I guess he's like looking for work through IMDb. Maybe I don't know Man's are actually threatened legal action against the people who made Home Alone because This came out the year before Home Alone came out. So he was kind of trying to say hey Home Alone's an awful lot like this So I knew this going into the film watching the film for the first time my wife did as well And she kind of said she's like there's not that much in common The only thing really in common is that it's a kid defending his house with like Setting up traps basically that's it and and that's true But you know it could just be that little concept that was picked up But I'm gonna say that the fact that they were released one year apart I don't think that speaks to anything being stolen from this film for Home Alone It seems more of a coincidence in my opinion just because I would think that things would have to have already been in The works with Home Alone prior to anyone even being able to see Deadly games, so just saying The film was criticized for continuity issues, which I mean when you watch a movie with a premise like this I'm not sure you really should be watching for continuity issues because Why are you watching the film then because you know like it's an absurd thing. It's it's an absurd film It's an absurd concept and if you're watching it You shouldn't really be looking for continuity issues because I kind of feel like you should just expect it at that point You know, it's not going to be like a masterpiece a great movie. It's just gonna be fun It's gonna be dumb fun and this film is that in my opinion Oh Before I end up getting into any spoilers and I will because this movie is from 1989 I Would tell people if you haven't seen it yet stop right here Go actually watch it because it's worth at least one watch then come back to the video and finish it out Because there will be spoilers. I want to get into some stuff so 2018 2018 is when the film actually premiered in the United States, which is really really weird It was thanks to the American genre film archive They restored the film and released it and I will say the version on shutter looks pretty good Like it looks relatively clean for being from 1989. So they did a good job restoring that film It's just really weird because I saw some people on social media who are just like this from 1989 How did I not know it know about this until now? Well, it's because the US premiere was 2018, you know, there's so many films out there on the world that have been from other countries They just haven't made it to the United States and a lot that never will it takes someone taking interest in it to pull it Over here and release it to the audience in whatever capacity and because that varies So just know that people German distributor camera Obscura actually released a three disc special edition Blu-ray of this film So if you're interested in it if you've already seen it and you really like it or you want to see it for the first time You really like it Diabolic DVD has it. I like to look at their stuff and I've purchased from them before they kind of take DVDs and Blu-rays released from a bunch of different companies and put it all into one website So you can order through them. So diabolic is di a b o l i k So diabolic DVD check it out if you want this Blu-ray Blu-ray The intro of this the crushed snow globe in this film was actually a really cool introduction It kind of gives you the idea of the foreshadowing of the kids hopes and dreams about Santa Claus and Christmas being Crushed being terribly crushed and then after it. I mean in addition to it It just looked cool to be honest. It looked like a cool concept And then you go to the to the Santa Claus, which you never find out what his actual name is the creepy Pedophile seeming Santa Claus from numerous scenes seems like a pedophile like this unhinged dude Who wants to murder and seems very pedophile like? So then you see him showing up and he's acting like a pedophile getting involved in some kids playing you know with snowballs is having a snowball fight and At that point I was kind of like is he an actual Santa Claus is this like oh with Santa Claus Disguised in normal clothing you want to see if the kids are good or bad, but then it becomes abundantly clear That's not the case when he goes and gets the job Being a Santa Claus for Thomas's mom's company, and then he's being super creepy Very super creepy, so then you're just like oh, okay. He is not actual Santa Claus. He's a crazy dude I Remember thinking when you when you first are introduced to the character Thomas I'm like how rich is this kid because he's like sleeping in this Constructed like World War two airplane or something, and you're just like what the heck is going on in here And this is in his house So you're just like how rich is this kid? And I was like this is like a messed up version of Richie Rich because he then like suits up and gets ready And is like ready for combat. He's running around the house playing guns, and he like Uses his dog like it's kind of a little bit abusive to his dog To be honest where he's like throwing things at his dog and making him fall through his trap door And you're just like give it a rest man the kids very intense, and I had written down I was like I feel like this kid was born with Vietnam flashbacks as memories Like that's how intense he seems with this stuff, but I will say Introducing super early in the film Him having this type of training like it looks like he kind of like trained himself So he's got like this military regimen for himself It kind of sets you up for he has these skills like he has this mindset where he can just get into this kind of like midget Rambo mode where he's just like Ready to go so when he turns that on it's already been set up that like that's a thing And I'm yeah, and I don't mean midget like little person midget. I mean midget like midget league That's what I mean You got to love Excuse me. It's messed up my notes. You got to love the fake eye of the tiger ripoff Did anyone else get that when he's when he gets up and he's like getting ready for war to like play war that like It's a ripoff of the song I the tiger by survivor It totally is and if you don't if you didn't catch that go back and watch it totally is But I'm sure Everyone got that the kids hair is intense and it's hard to realize that That was actually a trend that people were like, yeah, that's a cool hairdo just like mullets You know like that's that's like a super mullet kind of like a version of a super mullet And it made me think back to I don't know if anyone ever saw the show on Nickelodeon salute your shorts With the character of bud Nick like that's the hairdo He had with like the long hair in the back and then like spiky and short up front Yeah, that's what that kid reminded me of I was like wow Man hairdos so it does seem like the Santa is a pedophile. I wrote he looks Super creepy like the way they cast that character that dude just looks creepy on his own even without doing creepy stuff But then again, he does creepy stuff So like the actor who portrayed him did a really good job because he looks nuts. He looks nuts Most of the time he looks nuts I love the shot that they got of Santa Claus sitting in the rocking chair after he you know Delivers presence to that first family and you it's kind of alluded to that he probably killed them And then he gets all out decked out in the Santa Claus garb and he you know shoots the fake snow spray on his beard So it's all white and his hair and he's just like sitting in the rocking chair Like the way that's lit looks really good But also like his expression and I was like staring off into nowhere. You just see you're just like he is just Thinking about murder right now like it just looked like he's like Murder I'm about to do it Yeah, it's like whoo So then as we all know the dog killing ends up happening and when that happened in this when he comes down the chimney I was like did this film get ripped off by John Wick as well because that's what sets that kid off He killed my dog. That's just a joke. I don't actually think that You know Santa's crazy when he head butts the windshield. That's the next thing I wrote down like this guy seems kind of unhinged Obviously because he's like breaking in someone's house But it's like that next level of unhinged when he intentionally head butts the windshield of the car That Thomas and his grandfather are trying to use to get away like that is intense Who does that like you know, you're doing damage to yourself and he clearly doesn't care He's just like I'm gonna head butt this windshield. That was nuts. I didn't see that coming either. I was like whoa, okay? I wrote down of course the mom drives off the road while talking on her phone Because that's why we have hands-free laws now people because of things like that when you had your car phone Not even cell phone back then a car phone my parents had one that thing was ridiculous And you're not paying attention and you just go off into a snow embankment. That's how it is Uh the portion with the kid burying his dog to the music is actually kind of impactful And my wife was just like this is sad. She's like this is really getting sad But at the same time how much like when that's going on how much time does this kid really have? Because at numerous moments throughout the film He doesn't take all that much time and then he just is somewhere else in the uh in the house And then all of a sudden the Santa Claus is there And he just keeps like being wherever he ends up being but for some reason he had a very long length of time to take care of bandaging bandaging himself up and getting himself a crutch and burying his dog and It seemed like too much time for the context of what else was happening on in the film This is weird That kid had a lot of gear on him and a makeshift crutch It must have been very very very tough for the actor who played the kid to get around Like that was a physically demanding role because there were numerous times where with that crutch and with all that gear on him He was just like trying to run and you could see how tough it was and this leads me to another thing I was going to touch on it later, but I was just doing out that kid actor Did a really good job in my opinion. I don't know if anyone else felt that way put some comments down here Don't you think he did a really good job? I I found him to be an excellent actor for that role Uh, it was pretty disappointing that whole scene with the grenade Like he made up that grenade that he put marbles inside of and it was on the train And he lit it and it he like sent it to go all the way to the Santa Claus and the Santa Claus picks it up Turns it around it goes all the way back and it was going to hit the uh, you know the um The suit of armor with his grandfather hiding in it. So he's like, oh no And nothing happened and it just kind of felt like that whole scene was for nothing literally Especially because when he goes and runs for it and tries to grab it before it hits his grandfather And then the Santa Claus tackles him Like that it would have led to something then it would have made sense because then he's captured But the Santa just lets him go and so it's like First of all, it's like what because the whole motivation for this guy at this at this point in the film is he's trying to kill this kid He has the kid literally in his arms and then just lets him go. It doesn't even make any sense. It's like why And then you're just making so then really like because nothing came out of that scene It literally was all for nothing and there wasn't anything interesting or exciting It was very very disappointing that there was no explosion Like you were looking forward to that when he was crafting that thing. I was like, oh man I cannot wait to see how he uses this thing or the explosion it causes or what he ends up blowing up Nothing it was so it was such a big letdown probably the biggest letdown in the movie to be honest Because that's what it's all about. It's kind of like home alone Like the best parts of home alone are when the traps are being used It would have been it's the same thing for this and the traps aren't used all that much anyway, so Um, I wrote down the santa can't find a better weapon than the pie cutter He has a lot of alone time in this giant mansion house And i'm sure he's come across many other things that he could use other than this pie cutter Which was the first thing he found when he got in the house plus how is that pie cutter that sharp because he just like kind of quickly Swipes it on thomas's leg and it really cuts him like i don't know a pie cutter that's that sharp really was weird But he should have found another weapon is my point. That's my main point santa could have finished Finished this movie quite a few times and he just keeps letting the kid go I mean the one time i was talking about with the uh the grenade that doesn't explode the time where he almost had him because He cut his leg and that other kid showed up pulio or puli I forget what his name was and then he goes after him instead and there were a few other moments where he's like Right there and then he's just like oh i'm distracted. You can leave. It's weird It just doesn't make any sense. It just makes it feel like the movie is unnecessarily dragging on and they're just like Oh wait, he could catch him here, but we need the movie to be longer. Um, just have the santa clause. Let him go Let's just you know, he'll get distracted by something shiny. It's It's okay. That's like In general a lot of things take way too long in this movie to be honest A lot of the scenes just run a little bit too long It really should have been edited a lot tighter in my opinion and it would have been more interesting I mean, it's not even like full runtime. It's not super long of a film It's like an hour and 25 minutes or something like that But it feels a lot longer in my opinion because a lot of these shots are just very drawn out So I would like to see a better cut of this film. I'm sure that will never happen, but you know We can dream Wouldn't that have been something in the end if grandpa shot thomas because he couldn't see very well I was literally saying that while I was watching the film to my wife Because you're like seeing it from his perspective and everything's all blurry and he's like trying to aim this gun I was like, oh my god, wouldn't it be an amazing finish if he just like shot thomas? And then that's like the end of the movie and the santa clause gets away Great way to set up a sequel, but they didn't should have taken that one Um, it's now better If that kid doesn't believe in santa clause. I wrote down Yes, he's very traumatized. You kind of see it at the end like the look on his face is just it's like totally Traumatized look and you're just like He was so dead set on believing in santa clause anyone to capture him and then all this happens so it's actually probably better if he just Believes that santa clause doesn't actually exist as santa clause and knows. Hey, this was actually a crazy guy There really is no santa clause It's your parents and this was a Homicidal pedophilic maniac who broke into your house and you defended it from him That would be a better way to go so the mom actually has at this point a really hard decision to make Do I let him still believe in santa or do I tell him the truth and save Him from thinking that the good guy santa clause is actually More like crampus but worse Um All right, so that's all I have to say about like the events of it But I will say solid directing in this actually the directing really impressed me in this film There were a lot of really cool camera angles. The cinematography was really good And one of the big things that I noticed is he liked to use renaissance or like to use a lot of like slightly tilted Shots which kind of let you know that something's a little off Like that's the feeling I get when I see those types of shots is it's like Oh, here's the scene, but it's a little bit tilted so as it looks slightly off It also feels slightly off which is perfect In in a conjunction with the person who was playing the santa clause So I really like that especially when they have it like kind of tilted and then it's moving too Those are very effective in my opinion um they used Some they used a lot of backlighting in scenes and especially ones where like You could see it was like an intense light coming out in the background But there were things kind of in front of it So you didn't see like the actual light itself you saw the light coming out from around it And I thought that looked really good a few things a It made it look more kind of a little bit more creepy be it made it look more cold like wintry in my opinion And um, see it just kind of looked cool that way to be honest like with the way the lighting ended up being the back light Backlighting thing was used a lot in this film, but I think it worked really really well for the overall feel I loved it especially that one moment. I think it's when Thomas and his grandfather in the car trying to get away And it's the you see the santa clause standing out there and it's just the backlighting Is right the lights right behind him and it's just like coming out from all behind him that looks particularly good in my opinion so I'm a fan anyway, uh Uh the film overall it looks kind of whimsical, but it also looks menacing at the same time So another reason I really like the look of this film. I'm very very very impressed with how good it looked It looked excellent. So renae manzer. He did a really good job with that Um, I already said the kids acting is good So I felt like there was a bit of a theme to this film of what danger parents end up leaving their kids in When they work too much it kind of seems to me to make a little bit of that kind of Age-old Argument of don't leave your kids alone too long or you're working too much and it's destroying your child's Uh childhood basically for lack of a better word. So Uh, I kind of felt like it was going there a little bit with it, but ultimately it's really just about a crazy concept That's fun. I enjoyed it Hopefully if you're watching this and you've already seen it you also had a good time with it Uh, I don't know if it's one that I want to watch more I can see I can see myself wanting to do it once every december that feels about right for me Um, I'm very very glad I saw it at least once because now I can tell people Hey, you want to see a crazy movie that came out before home alone But it's kind of like home alone and people would be like what because home alone seems very unique And then you see this and you're like no no no Although I like I said, I don't think that home alone stole from this film But anyway gonna give this a rating. Okay, so this is interesting So this I think this is another one. I have to do the the two different ratings on it So rating it amongst all the films ever made in the pantheon of filmmaking out of five stars with half stars in play I'm gonna give it a two star And I give it a bump up to two stars because it looks really good And I think the kids acting is particularly good There are a lot of plot holes. There's a lot of continuity issues, you know stuff like that So two stars is pretty solid for that Now if I'm rating it as like a bad fun movie, that's not necessarily supposed to be technically great or anything I'm gonna go ahead and give it. I'm gonna give it a three and a half star rating For like bad movies. I give it a three and a half It's it's pretty good in that realm in that category in in that categorization But anyways, that's my take on Uh deadly games a.k.a. Game over a.k.a. Dial code Santa Claus. What did you think put your comments down there? I'm very interested to see how people feel about this. I've already seen some people on social media being like Where has this movie been all my life now? I have a new favorite for uh, December every year Great, I'm I'm all about that But you might have to buy it then because it's not going to stay on shutter forever in my opinion And I don't think anywhere else is gonna pick it up. So diabolic dvd. Go check it out there get your blu-ray Three disc blu-ray blu-ray of that which I think I saw that in the special features on that there's like a A hour and a half long documentary or something like that There's like a documentary portion and I believe there's also some interview stuff with the actual writer director René Manzor, so That would be really interesting But anyway, thanks everyone for checking this out. Please do me a quick solid hit that subscribe That's your way to repay me if you like anything I do because I'm doing everything for free I just need that encouragement, you know, so hit that subscribe for me Please you can do a like if you want to put some comments down there Let's talk about it. But thanks for checking this out and until next time keep it brutal