Deadly Games at Chapeltown Picture House

Tom Grieve, Cinema Editor
Chapeltown Picture House

Deadly Games at Cultplex, Manchester 21 December 2022 Tickets from £5.00 — 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.

Deadly Games at Cultplex, Manchester 21 December 2022 Tickets from £5.00 Book now

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

Three men sit next to each other. One's head is bandaged, one holds a torch and one wears a sleepmask.
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

Culture Guides

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Eclectic as ever. You'll find inventive reworkings, world-class contemporary dance and Greater Manchester's inaugural Improv Festival in our guide.

Image by Jonathan Schofield.
Tours and Activities in the North

We've got many a good time in store this month as we round up the best walking tours, cultural classes and makers markets in the land.

portrait of Lorsung in a dark shirt with dark hair and dark round glasses
Literature Events in the North

We've got laughs and we've got leftfield on the live literature radar this month. Something for everyone, from poets playing with form to short story writers looking long.

Sextile
Music in the North

Open air clubs, new festivals and long-awaited gigs. The North West's live music scene is heating up this spring. 

Classical Music in the North

Read our latest highlights from the live classical music offer in Manchester and the North, taking in a number of the region's most cherished orchestral forces and venues.

Laura Ellen Bacon, Into Being, 2025. Photo © India Hobson, courtesy Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Exhibitions in the North

Willow weaving, textile collages, digital arts and ecology - all this and more in our exhibition top picks this month

Three men sit next to each other. One's head is bandaged, one holds a torch and one wears a sleepmask.
Cinema in the North

Live scores, midnight movies and the latest from Wes Anderson are just some of our upcoming film highlights.