ORIGINAL TITLE3615 code Père Noël
GENREAction-horror · Thriller · Holiday
ABOUT THIS FILM
RUNTIME
92 min
Vibe
Frenchhome-invasionchild-adventuredarkMiniteltensecultsnowytechno-thrillerkiller-Santa
A technologically gifted boy contacts someone through France's Minitel service believing he is Santa; the stranger reaches the family mansion and turns Christmas Eve into a lethal home invasion. Child's belief, early network technology and action-movie imagination collide; much darker than the home alone comparison that later became part of its reputation.
MOVIE NIGHT RANK
#60 of 100
Watch for
- Minitel as plot technology
- Thomas's surveillance and traps
- childhood play versus genuine danger
- collapse of Santa belief
Production notes
BDFCI lists Manzor, 1989 production, 92 minutes, French origin and UGC distribution; Manzor wrote the original story.
Trivia
- original title 3615 code Père Noël
- René Manzor wrote/directed
- BDFCI lists 92 minutes
- Minitel is central to the plot
- French production
Legacy
international cult rediscovery grew through restoration; historically interesting as both Christmas thriller and pre-internet networked-contact story.