Reason number one: Thomas's glorious mullet - easily one of the finest examples of the 'business up front, party in the back' hairstyle ever committed to film (even better than Nic Cage's flowing locks in Con Air or Jean Claude Van Damme's greasy mane in Hard Target).

Reason number two: it's like a harder-hitting version of Home Alone, but without the annoyance of Macauley Culkin (no stranger to the mullet himself, but nothing comparable to Thomas's)

Reason number three: the antagonist - a looney who dresses up like Santa to terrorise the kid and his grandpa - is genuinely disturbing. He kills mullet boy's pet dog with a cake slice, ferchristsakes, right in front of the lad's eyes - how messed up is that?

Reason number four: the kid's mum is a MILF.

Reason number five: the mansion in which the action takes place. It's a fantastical, sprawling, magical playground, with hidden doors, booby traps, a literal maze of corridors, and a secret area full of toys. In short, it's every kid's dream home.

Reason number six: the style. Forget Tim Burton.... this is how you do a dark fantasy. René Manzor's direction is superb, every scene a feast for the eyes, with particularly impressive set design and camerawork.

Reason number seven: it's not all smiles and rainbows at the end - that kid is going to be emotionally scarred by his experience for years after. A mullet like that is bound to have long-term psychological consequences too.

Reason number eight: the soundtrack, which includes some Creedence Clearwater Revival (great to shake your mullet to) and a surprisingly good song by Bonnie Tyler.

8.5/10, rounded up to 9 for IMDb.

Straight up, let me be honest. This movie is crazy. I say that a lot in conversations about movies that defy description. I may exclaim, this movie is insane. It's bonkers. I may use all manner of words. Let me tell you, when it comes to Christmas movies, nothing will prepare you for this.

Let me short hand it for you - imagine if Home Alone had more terror and blood. Think of the grindhouse version of that film. And then realize that this was made a year before and direct René Manzor once threatened the makers of that film with a lawsuit alleging that they had remade his movie.

The difference is that when the Wet Bandits get beat up in Home Alone, the carnage is like a cartoon. Not here. Not at all.

Thomas de Frémont is a smart young kid who is obsessed with inventing things and American action movies like Rambo. He lives in a secluded mansion with his widowed mother Julie, his nearly blind grandfather Papy and his dog J.R. On Christmas Eve, Thomas uses a Minitel ( a French 80's internet that had access to commercial and private addresses, along with chat rooms) to try and talk to Santa, only to be targeted by a deranged homeless man who breaks into the mansion.

Seriously, this evil Santa is super evil. He gets a job where Julie works, slaps around kids and gets his entry into their home by hiding in a delivery van and killing the driver. He then kills Thomas' dog in front of his eyes. The young boy thinks that this really is Santa and he is angry that he's stayed up so late to try and catch him dropping off toys.

The evil Saint Nick cuts off all the phone lines and challenges Thomas to a game of life and death, even catching him once and letting him go. I'm not going to give away more of the movie, but it's seriously one of the darkest holiday movies I've ever witnessed, one that will make kids not want anything in heir stockings.

It's also shot in an incredibly frenetic style that I'd compare favorably to Michele Soavi. Manzor would go on to be a famous writer, as well as get hired by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas to direct some of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.

Also known as Deadly Games and Dial Code Santa Claus, this movie was impossible to find. That said - the awesome folks at American Genre Film Archive have a restored version playing across the country this holiday with a blu ray finally releasing soon. It won't be out in time for Christmas, but if you're already reading about it here, you know how to search the grey markets of the internet by now. It's worth the time.

And we used to think only John Wick got angry after they killed his dog. Wait till u bump into lil Thomas.

I first saw this in the early 90s on a vhs. Revisited it recently with my 7 year ol nephew since he wanted to meet a Santa n my wife didn't allow me to take him to the malls due to Covid. I thot why not scare the idea of meeting Santa for time being.

This film inspired many films. Home Alone, The Aggression Scale n the latest Becky.

Many fellas r unnecessary comparing it with Home Alone. This movie came before Home Alone. And jus because it has a Christmas theme, many fellas r associating Die Hard with this film.

In fact, Tales from the Crypt s1e2, All thru the House fits the similarities.

Coming back to this film - A mentally unstable bum with a penchant for playing with kids gets a job as a Santa at a department store but is fired from it after the manager witnesses him slap a child who had accused him of not being the real Santa. The bum hitches a ride to the manager's home in the back of a delivery van n kills the driver upon reaching the secluded and high-tech mansion wher only the manager's diabetic and partially blind father, a pet dog n the manager's 10 year old kid is present. The bicycle scene gave me chills when i first saw this as a teen. The film has a very serious n gloomy tone. A kid at peril still scares me.

The film has lovely cinematography n proper feel of a holiday season.

A minor goof which my 7 year old nephew pointed out while we were watching last night. When the killer attacks the car in the garage, the kid is shown exiting n running but my nephew asked me how was the grandpop able to exit out.