Deadly Games at Chapeltown Picture House

Tom Grieve, Cinema Editor

Book now

Deadly Games

Cultplex, Manchester
21 December 2022

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Chapeltown Picture House
Book now

A film for those who think that Macauley Culkin didn’t go far enough, Deadly Games A.K.A. Dial Code Santa Claus is a home invasion thriller that Slash Film called “a blend of classic Amblin and a grind-house nightmare.” It was released in 1989, a full year before Home Alone, and yet the films share a remarkably similar plot – albeit approached with wildly different sensibilities.

Deadly Games’ Thomas (Alain Lalanne) is an 80s kid, well-versed in computer games and the toys of the day. His mother is in the office, and he settles in for Christmas Eve alone with his elderly grandfather when a killer dressed as Santa Claus breaks into their home. Left with no choice but to defend his home, Thomas channels his best Rambo and sets out to incapacitate the red suited menace by any means necessary.

Directed by René Manzor, this festive French film was available mainly via VHS bootlegs for years. But a North American premiere at Austin’s Fright Fest in 2019 has increased its profile, with audiences and critics delighted by its deranged approach to the holiday season and happy to have a new bit of Christmas counter-programming.

What's on at Cultplex

Where to go near Deadly Games at Chapeltown Picture House

Cheetham Hill
Restaurant
Osaka Local

Wonderful Japanese street food vendor, often found at Grub and other street food events in and around Manchester and the North.

tours and activities guide
Cheetham Hill
Manchester Three Rivers Gin Distillery

Join the Gin renaissance with Manchester Three Rivers, a gin distillery situated in the heart of the Green Quarter making some fantastic gin as well as inviting people to get up close to the distillation process.

Salford
Bar or Pub
The Runaway Brewery

An exciting young Brewery on the Manchester scene, Runaway are creating a whole host of drinkable delights.

Manchester
Restaurant
Fairfield Social Club

Fairfield Social Club is a multi-purpose site next to Angel Meadows Park in the Green Quarter, ran by the team behind the much-loved Grub,.

Popup Bikes
Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
Popup Bikes

Independently-run coffee shop and bike repair shop on the edge of the Green Quarter in Manchester.

Manchester
Event venue
Partisan

Partisan is a Manchester-based collective and volunteer-run space for independent, community led, DIY and cultural based projects. They have two floors for events, meetings, office space, live music, club nights, and art.

Salford
Gallery
1520 Studios

1520 Studios is bigger than a film and photography studio, also functioning as an event space and community hub.

Cheetham Hill
The Yard

New creative hub The Yard is home to a great little music venue, which tends to attract future-leaning electronic artists.

The exterior of The Pilcrow
Manchester
Bar or Pub
Sadler’s Cat

The Pilcrow is now Sadler’s Cat, a contemporary community pub at the heart of the NOMA neighbourhood. Overlooking Sadler’s Yard.

What's on: Cinema

Barbara Dane
CinemaManchester
Kinofilm/ Soul on Sunday at Nia Centre

Kinofilm present a special screening of documentary The Nine Lives of Barbara Dane as part of Soul on Sunday an all-day event celebrating Northern Soul at the Nia Centre.

From £8.00
Three men sit next to each other. One's head is bandaged, one holds a torch and one wears a sleepmask.
Until
CinemaManchester
Wes World at HOME

Take a trip back into the world of Wes Anderson this May as HOME present a series of the acclaimed auteur’s most beloved films alongside The Phoenician Scheme.

From £7.95
Grease outdoor cinema
Cinema
Outdoor Cinema at Tatton Park

There’s movies under the stars again at Tatton Park this summer as the open air cinema returns for the August Bank Holiday Weekend.

From £14.99

Culture Guides

A young boy with a white sash around his left arm cries.
Cinema in the North

Outdoor cinema announcements, a major retrospective at HOME, and the best of indie cinema.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Experimental performance, thought-provoking new writing and our picks of Manchester International Festival - here’s what’s taking centre stage this summer.

Isabel Galleymore in conversation
Literature Events in the North

There's a lot of experimentation going on in our Literature guide, from poets playing with form to short story writers looking long.

Music in the North

Gigs are coming in hot this spring – from long-awaited returns to one-off happenings you’ll blink and miss if you're not careful.

Experience a unique deep listening art installation inviting audiences to lay down and be bathed in sound and light.
Exhibitions in the North

From city-wide art festivals to open-air sculptural installations, we have exhibitions from all around the North, both indoors and out.