Don't Open Till Christmas (1984)

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.

Director:

Edmund Purdom

Writers:

Alan Birkinshaw (additional scenes written by) (as Al McGoohan), Derek Ford

Stars:

Edmund Purdom, Alan Lake, Belinda Mayne

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Edmund Purdom	...	Inspector Ian Harris
Alan Lake	...	Giles Harrison
Belinda Mayne	...	Kate Briosky
Mark Jones	...	Detective 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 (as Lawrence Harrington)
Ken Halliwell	...	Restaurant Commissionaire
Ray Marioni	...	Maitre d'hotel
Wilfred Corlett	...	'Experience' Santa Claus
Ricky Kennedy	...	Theatre Santa Claus

Storyline

A murderer is running loose through the streets of London, hunting down men dressed as Santa and killing them all in different, and extremely violent, fashions. Inspector Harris has decided to take on the unenviable task of tracking down the psychopath, but he's going to have his work cut out for him. Only the suspicious reporter, Giles, seems to offer the Inspector any promising leads.

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Plot Keywords:

inspector | running | scotland yard | cut | christmas | 

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Taglines:

The Gift of Terror That Just Won't Wait

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 December 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fröhliche Weihnacht

Filming Locations:

Café Royal - 68 Regent Street, Piccadilly, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Spectacular Trading International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Edmund Purdom agreed to star in this film only after stipulating that he also direct it.

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Goofs

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

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: Silent Night, Deadly Night V: The Toy Maker (2015)

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Soundtracks

I'm the Warrior of Love
(uncredited)
Sung by Caroline Munro

User Reviews

Terrible but I've seen worse. Far worse.

A terrible movie on many levels. The plot is absolutely ridiculous and outlandish. The acting mediocre at best. The premise involves people that dawn Santa costumes during the holidays being unceremoniously killed one by one. Therein lies the problem; lack of ceremony. A slasher movie without ceremony is like a romance film without a kiss. Santa after Santa is killed. However, we don't know who they are, we don't care, and suspense doesn't fit anywhere is this poorly constructed equation. The murders themselves are not doted on and lack any imagination whatsoever. Going back to the story line, logic is totally thrown out the window at every misstep. With an entire city under a terrifying siege, why on earth do people continuing to put on these ridiculous costumes, only to seemingly wander right into the hands of the killer? Had this been handled by a competent writer and director, not to mention the addition of a budget, any budget, there's actually potential to this very anemic holiday horror.