Dial Code Santa Claus (3615 code Père Noël) is a 1989 French horror-thriller film written and directed by René Manzor.
Thomas, a resourceful child, is left alone with his fragile grandfather on Christmas Eve. When a killer dressed as Santa Claus breaks into their home, Thomas does whatever it takes to defend his home and grandfather.
Also known as Deadly Games.
Dial Code Santa Claus contains examples of:
- Adults Are Useless: Up until the end when Thomas’ nearly blind grandfather finishes off the already weakened Santa with a gun, Thomas has to completely fend for himself against the intruder.
- The Ahnold: Thomas loves American action movies and idolizes their muscle-bound stars, and even stages play sessions heavily inspired by them.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Near the end, Thomas tearfully asks Santa why he's doing all this. The Santa appears sad and confused, as if even he doesn't know.
- Bad Santa: A deranged killer dressed as Santa stalks Thomas and his grandfather.
- Berserk Button: The Santa is very kind (if not a bit creepy) to a little girl on his lap at the mall until she tells him she doesn't like his face and calls him a fake. Then he slaps her.
- Big Fancy House: Thomas and his family live in a large hi-tech mansion that is easy to get lost in.
- Bittersweet Ending: Thomas and his grandfather are alive but Thomas’ dog has been killed and Thomas is clearly traumatized.
- Child Prodigy: Thomas has built most of the traps and surveillance devices of his house by himself.
- Children Are Innocent: Thomas still believes in Santa when his friends have stopped.
- Evil-Detecting Dog: Thomas's dog can tell the Santa who came through the chimney is up to no good, which is why the Santa kills him.
- Evil Is Petty: The main reason why the Santa pursues Thomas is because Thomas’ mother fired him from his job as a Mall Santa (after striking a child).
- "Home Alone" Antics: A very Darker and Edgier version thereof, in which both Thomas and the Santa are outright trying to kill each other by the end. The film allegedly inspired the trope namer to the point that René Manzor threatened to sue.
- Implacable Man: The Santa is unstoppable in his pursuit of Thomas and his grandfather even after being burned and shot at it with various projectiles and explosives.
- Lock-and-Load Montage: Played for Laughs in the beginning when Thomas does one inspired by Commando. A scrawny adolescent boy trying to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger is about as comical as it sounds. He later has to do a real one after the Santa starts attacking him.
- Lonely Rich Kid: Thomas' main source of companionship is his massive collection of expensive toys, which it's strongly implied is the main reason he has any friends.
- Kick the Dog: The first thing the Santa does after climbing down the chimney is kill Thomas' dog.
- Mall Santa: The Santa is this before being fired after slapping a child.
- Psychopathic Manchild: The Santa at various points acts like he is just playing a game with Thomas; at one point when he captures Thomas he decides to let him go to play 'hide and seek'.
- Social Media Is Bad: In The '80s! The Santa finds Thomas' house through a Minitel chat room when Thomas tells him that his mother is the manager of a department store, which turns out to be enough information for the Santa to trace his location. The "3615" in the French title was the most common number used in Minitel addresses, akin to ".com" in the Internet age.
- Still Believes in Santa: Thomas firmly believes in Santa Claus, and believes the man who came down the chimney in a Santa suit (because Thomas blocked all other entrances) is the real Saint Nicholas. He thinks so even after the Santa kills his dog, because his mother told him that if you see Santa delivering presents he'll turn into an ogre.
- The Unreveal: Who the Santa is or where he comes from is never revealed. (The back of the recent Blu-ray release says he has escaped from an insane asylum, but this is never stated in the film.)
- We Need to Get Proof: The whole thing starts because Thomas wants to capture incontrovertible proof that Santa is real, and as such effectively locks himself, his grandfather, and the madman dressed as Santa in his house to record footage of the latter.
- Would Harm a Child: The Santa stalks and tries to kill an eleven-year-old boy throughout the film.
