Don't Open Till Christmas (1984) - Classic Christmas Archive
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Oddly structured, startlingly sadistic, and extremely sleazy British slasher concerning a maniac viciously stabbing and slashing unfortunate victims who happen to make the mistake of wearing a Santa costume during the Christmas holiday season. Inspector Harris(Edmund Purdom)is being grilled by his superior at Scotland Yard to solve the case before Christmas Day arrives, but he doesn't entirely seem that interested in finding the perpetrator, singling out Cliff Boyd(Gerry Sundquist), the live-in boyfriend of a wealthy heiress, Kate(Belinda Mayne)whose father was a victim of the Santa Claus killer when dressed like Jolly Saint Nick one night at a party(..thanks to a spear through his head and out his mouth..ouch!)who couldn't possibly be the one responsible if he were standing beside his lover when the murder took place. When Harris comes up with no results, he's suspended and his associate, Sergeant Powell(Mark Jones)takes over, given information by a creepy supposed newspaper journalist, Giles(Alan Lake)to keep an eye on the Inspector for he might know more than he letting on regarding the Santa Claus killer. Kate begins her own investigation in true slasher/giallo fashion and finds the man she was looking for, while also possibly falling for Harris, discovering that he visits an institution for the insane. Who's Harris visiting and does this revelation possibly lead to the killer? As far as Giles goes, what he to do in the grand scheme of things? The film also shows that a stripper, who witnesses a murder through her glass terminal towards someone wearing a Santa costume, who gave what little information she knew to Scotland Yard, herself is kidnapped by the mysterious killer, given a little time alive, imprisoned in a small makeshift room hoping that he makes a false move so she can escape.
Pretty messy which is understandable due to it's difficult production problems. This is a must for slasher fans, though, as it features ample doses of both nudity and violence. Different types of sharp weapons are used to plunge into the bellies and faces of victims who are stalked down streets into darkened buildings, often throughout alleys. One especially memorable kill concerns a castration in a bathroom as the poor chap is relieving himself. My favorite sequence is where this drunken Santa attempts to hide from the killer in a darkened wax museum. Also memorable is one Santa victim's fate in the Piccadily theater as Caroline Munro portrays a pop singer belting a tune as she swivels her curves for an unseen audience. For fans of all things lurid, the film often takes place in seedier sides of London and the killer decides to check out a nude model underneath a Santa coat as the straight-razor slides seductively down her naked chest. The film never quite gels overall and the characters aren't given flesh perhaps due to a lot of footage not so easy to piece together even by the third director who was an editor. The reveal as to why the killer is offing unsavory sorts donning Santa outfits is as sleazy as the overall product which won't disappoint those accustomed to 80's slashers.
Pretty messy which is understandable due to it's difficult production problems. This is a must for slasher fans, though, as it features ample doses of both nudity and violence. Different types of sharp weapons are used to plunge into the bellies and faces of victims who are stalked down streets into darkened buildings, often throughout alleys. One especially memorable kill concerns a castration in a bathroom as the poor chap is relieving himself. My favorite sequence is where this drunken Santa attempts to hide from the killer in a darkened wax museum. Also memorable is one Santa victim's fate in the Piccadily theater as Caroline Munro portrays a pop singer belting a tune as she swivels her curves for an unseen audience. For fans of all things lurid, the film often takes place in seedier sides of London and the killer decides to check out a nude model underneath a Santa coat as the straight-razor slides seductively down her naked chest. The film never quite gels overall and the characters aren't given flesh perhaps due to a lot of footage not so easy to piece together even by the third director who was an editor. The reveal as to why the killer is offing unsavory sorts donning Santa outfits is as sleazy as the overall product which won't disappoint those accustomed to 80's slashers.
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|August 10, 2008|
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