Did John Hughes and Christopher Columbus rip off this film when they made Home Alone? That's the million dollar question we seek to answer on this episode!
Because one year before Home Alone, France released its own home invasion Christmas film, complete with a boy genius fending off the intruder with makeshift traps and gadgets. Director René Manzor is absolutely convinced that Home Alone's filmmakers got the idea for their holiday hit after his film screened at Cannes in 1989...but we're not so sure. We're breaking down our reasoning over the course of our study of this incredibly fun and - until recently - nearly lost holiday horror flick.
Thanks to Shudder, Dial Code Santa Claus has been given new life and a new audience! It's streaming exclusively on Shudder, and if you're building a list of darker Christmas films to enjoy over the holidays, this one is a must-see. It's part of our current series of Incredibly Strange Christmas Films here on Incredibly Strange Video, and we've got a full house here to analyze it, including cinematographer Ryan Kroboth and, for the first time ever on ISV, his wife Connie Chen!
Will young Thomas defeat the sinister Père Noël? Will Papy awaken from his diabetic coma? And what does it all have to say about the loss of childhood innocence? Find out by pressing play now!
Dial Code Santa Claus
Directed by René Manzor
1989, France
Additional Music:
"Christmas Spirit" by Silverman Sound Studios
Creative Commons (BY 4.0) license
Music powered by BreakingCopyright
Incredibly Strange Video is produced and edited by Ryan Quinn and Cassie Kay. Follow us on Bluesky @isvpodcast.bsky.social for updates on the newest episodes!
Theme music:
The End by EVA
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0
All excerpts from the films discussed are used for educational and critical purposes only.
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