Director: Edmund Purdom
Screenplay: Derek Ford, Alan Birkinshaw
Starring: Edmund Purdom, Alan Lake, Belinda Mayne ,Caroline Munro
Country: United Kingdom
Year:1984
Run Time:87mins
BBFC Rating:18
‘Don’t Open Till Christmas’ is a rather nasty and sleazy British slasher from 1984, in which a tired and grumpy detective (Edmund Purdom) tries to find the culprit behind a slew of Santa Claus killings. It is a film that suffered from huge production problems and took various directors and two years to be released, but now, over 40 years later, is it worth a reappraisal?
The story is a fairly run-of-the-mill slasher that we all know and love. A masked maniac stalks through the city with Argento-inspired POV shots and black gloves, hacking and slashing their way through Santas. So far, so gory — but the problem is that the film seems to have no idea where it is going and so mirrors the audience’s experience. The acting across the board feels as if this is the first time any member of the cast has seen their page of dialogue, and the camera work at times is so locked off that it feels like it was shot by the two people on screen because they couldn’t get anyone else to hold it for a while.
That might actually be the case, as this is the directorial debut of star Edmund Purdom. This British actor had once been tipped for stardom in Hollywood; however, he never really made it due to a scandalous relationship with Tyrone Power’s wife and the fact that the films he starred in were expensive flops. He subsequently moved to Italy, where he carved out a reliable career.
Purdom didn’t have a great time making the film (he quit the production and didn’t return until the final days of editing), but you can see in his eyes that he’s really trying. You can tell that scenes were reworked after he had left production because he gives a very different performance to other people who are meant to be in the same room as him.
After Purdom left, several actors were recast or new characters brought in, and the writer Derek Ford was hired to have a go for a bit (he lasted two days). The editor then saw the film through to the end, as Alan Birkinshaw was tasked with rewriting the script as they went along.
With all of that going on, no wonder the final film is such a mess — but I would be lying if it didn’t win me over in tiny ways. The Santa deaths are brilliantly mean-spirited, and the run-and-gun look of the film makes you feel like you’ve stumbled across something you shouldn’t be watching. There is a fun shot-in-a-day cameo by Hammer alumni Caroline Munro, which perks up the audience when the story is at its messiest. In short, I couldn’t care less about the plot (the film doesn’t either, it seems), but the grimy nature of the finished film is raw, naughty, and made me want to have a shower afterwards — all plus points in my book.
Special Features
Where this release really shines is in the extra features. The commentary with Troy Howarth and Eugenio Ercolani is fantastic, and both have a lot of interest and passion for the film and its production.
We also get interviews with actress Caroline Munro and co-director Alan Birkinshaw, who give some fun behind-the-scenes stories.
My favourite interview is with Edmund Purdom’s daughter, Lilian, who has written a book about her father. She is clearly reading her notes throughout this feature, but the information is nonetheless interesting.
Rounding out the set is a favourite presence of mine, Kim Newman. He does his absolute best to talk at great length about the film, and while it is engaging, I think even he found it hard to drum up much enthusiasm for it!
Full List of Special Features
- High Definition Blu-ray presentation in 1.66:1 aspect ratio from a 2K restoration
- 2.0 LPCM Dual-Mono
- Optional English subtitles
- Audio commentary with Troy Howarth and Eugenio Ercolani
- Naughty or Slice – An interview with critic Kim Newman
- Screaming Cameo – An interview with actress Caroline Munro
- Santa’s Substitute – An interview with co-director Alan Birkinshaw
- Edward the Conqueror – An interview with Lilian Purdom
- Original trailer