Don't Open 'Til Christmas (1984)

User Rating:

2.4/10   

Director:

Edmund Purdom

Writers:

Derek Ford (writer)
Al McGoohan (story)

Release Date:

December 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

...t'was the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring...they were all dead!

Plot:

Somebody with very little Christmas spirit is killing anyone in a Santa suit one London holiday season, and Scotland Yard has to stop him before he makes his exploits an annual tradition.

Plot Keywords:

Inspector | Holiday | Scotland Yard | Cut | Christmas

Cast

Edmund Purdom	...	Inspector Harris
Alan Lake	...	Giles
Belinda Mayne	...	Kate
Mark Jones	...	Sergeant Powell
Gerry Sundquist	...	Cliff Boyd
Kelly Baker	...	Experience Girl
Kevin Lloyd	...	Gerry
Wendy Danvers	...	Housekeeper
Nicholas Donnelly	...	Doctor Bridle (scenes deleted)
Pat Astley	...	Sharon
Laurence Harrington	...	Kate's father
Ken Halliwell	...	Restaurant Commissionare
Ray Marioni	...	Maitre d'hotel
Wilfred Corlett	...	Experience Santa Claus
Ricky Kennedy	...	Theatre Santa Claus

Also Known As:

Don't Open Till Christmas (UK) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:R | Norway:18 (video premiere) | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:(Banned) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Spectacular Trading International

Trivia:

Although the character of Dr Bridle (played by Nicholas Donnelly) is referred to in the script he has never appeared in any print of the movie. Due to the films many production difficulties his scenes were probably filmed but deleted.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When the inspector visits Kate's apartment to discuss the attack on Sharon, Kate asks what happened, but her mouth does not move.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Making of a Horror Film (1984)

A great film for any time in the year

One of my all time favourite movies. Purely for it's one of a kindness. There will never be another film made like this. Though i can understand that it's not to everyones taste, but most films aren't to my taste. This film is inept, badly acted, poorly directed and a bit of a mess, but for my personal tastes, these things all work in it's favour. The DVD is cut and doesn't include the Santa that gets shot in the head. The sequences have also been rearranged for the DVD release. There is also a making of documentary for this film ('The Making Of A Horror Movie') which is well worth seeking out and goes some way to explain the less than perfect end product. It is interesting to see the amount of time that was spent on the gory make up for this film. The effects, while only fleetingly shown in the film are actually very competent, especially considering the movies low budget. If you like inept, one of a kind movies check this out.