Dial Code: Santa Claus (René Manzor, 1989) 1hr 27m + Secret Santa Party in aid of Refuweegee.

What if Home Alone but grindhouse? Made in France the year before the Culkin classic, this has been described as “a blend of classic Amblin and a grindhouse nightmare.”

Thomas is a typical 1980s kid: he loves Rambo, computers, role-playing games and his dog. While mom’s away at the office on Xmas Eve, Thomas and his grandfather are left home alone – perfect timing for a disgruntled, perverted, bloodthirsty Santa Claus to raid the home down the chimney. But Hell hath no fury like a mulleted ten-year-old with an arsenal of toys!

Previously only available via VHS bootlegs – and a huge audience smash at Fantastic Fest 2018 – Dial Code Santa Claus (aka Deadly Games and 3615 Code Pere Noel) is an enormous discovery. Made a year before Home Alone (which, suspiciously, has almost the same plot), Dial Code is way more stylised and bloodier.

And Backseat Bingo will present a special top secret Cult Christmas screening, campier and kitschier than Kris Kringle’s black patent thigh-highs boots. Like all good Christmas shin-digs there will be party hats, festive nibbles and of course…SECRET SANTA!

We will be accepting cash donations on the door of the event. All proceeds will go to Refuweegee – a Glaswegian grassroots community project that ensures all refugees arriving in Glasgow are welcomed to the city in true Weegie style.

For every cash donation, we will be diving into our Secret Santa sack full of local goodies as a thank you. More details of Secret Santa goodies coming soon. Wear your ugliest Christmas jumper – antlers optional but encouraged!

The film screens in the original French and is captioned for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Tickets are on a sliding scale, £0-8. You decide what to pay, with reference to our sliding scale guide. There are three tiers: Free/£2, £4/£6 and £8. Register for a free ticket via tickets@matchboxcineclub.com. Read our guide on what to pay here.

Thanks to AGFA.

Centre for Contemporary Arts
350 Sauchiehall Street
Glasgow G2 3JD