Deadly Games Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Deadly Games Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 26, 2017

Rene Manzor's "Deadly Games" a.k.a. "Game Over" (1989) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Camera Obscura. The bonus features on the disc include original promotional materials for the film; exclusive new video interview with Alain Lalanne; new documentary with director Rene Manzor; and more. In French, with optional English or German subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Action time

I find it rather surprising that Rene Manzor’s Deadly Games does not have the reputation of a small genre classic in the U.S. The fact that it is a French film shot in French probably has a lot to do with it, but considering how successful Silent Night, Deadly Night and Home Alone became it seems like a local distributor should have picked up this film and made it a hit. It would not have been difficult. It was completed by Rene Manzor in 1989, only a few years after Silent Night, Deadly Night, and on this brand new Blu-ray release from German label Camera Obscura there is even a dubbed in English trailer for it, which again leads me to believe that back in the late 1980s someone made the wrong call and basically ignored the film.

The plot is not exactly groundbreaking, but the entire film oozes the contagious energy and enthusiasm that made so many smaller genre films from the 1980s special. With only a few hours left before Christmas Eve, young Tommy (Alain Lalanne) decides that it is time to find out whether Santa Claus really exists or is just a fictional character from a popular myth that adults have been tirelessly promoting for hundreds of years. So he places censors throughout his mother’s (Brigitte Fossey) massive Victorian home and connects all of the security cameras in it to a portable device with a tiny monitor that he has attached to his arm. Then after his mother goes to the giant department store that she runs in the nearby city and he helps his ailing grandfather (Louis Ducreux) go to bed, he hides under the big table next to the fireplace -- because if Santa Claus does exist this would be the perfect spot to see him enter through the chimney. Of course if he decides to cheat and tries to sneak in a different part of the house, Tommy will once again catch him action. Either way, this really is the night when the mystery gets solved.

Meanwhile, during a short conference meeting Tommy’s mother requests that her assistants add more Christmas decorations and if possible hire a few extra guys to dress up as Santa Claus to entertain customers in different parts of the store. Her requests are fulfilled, but one of the guys that puts on the big red Santa Claus costume turns out to be a loon that can’t stand interacting with curious children. The loon is promptly fired, but before he exits the store he vows to make its owner feel just as miserable as he does. Then, still dressed as Santa Claus, he heads to her lavish home.

The opening twenty or so minutes are quite misleading because they make it look like Tommy will turn out to be one of those troublemakers that unleash a chain reaction of funny disasters that will make a lot of other characters look and behave like complete idiots. Almost immediately after the loon is fired, however, Manzor shifts the narrative in an entirely different direction and young Tommy actually emerges as the most logical person in the entire film. I really do not want to spoil the film for you because there are a number of very good twists, so I am just going to say that there is quite a bit of bloody action in it that probably disqualifies it from being a ‘nice little Christmas film’. (It is not a gorefest that aims to test your tolerance for graphic footage either so you are still safe to see it with your kids, but expect a different type of Christmas film with an attitude).

The use of shadows and colored light inside the big house is very effective and gives the film the right vibe. Also, Bonnie Tyler can be heard singing "Merry Christmas".

Deadly Games Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Rene Manzor's Deadly Games arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Camera Obscura.

The release is sourced from a brand new and very beautiful 2K remaster. While I don't have another home video release of this film to perform some direct comparisons, the quality of the presentation is so strong and so convincing that even if I did it essentially would have been a pointless exercise -- detail, depth and especially fluidity are at levels that another format would not have been able to replicate. The darker footage in particular, where most of the shadow and color/filtered light effects are, looks wonderful, and the larger your screen is, the easier it will be for you to recognize the many strengths of the new remaster. (Basically, instead of breaking down and lacking in terms of shadow definition and clarity the new remaster preserves the proper qualities of the original cinematography). There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. The color palette is also very convincing. There is a wonderful range of solid organic primaries and an equally convincing range of healthy nuances. Image stability is outstanding. Finally, there are zero age-related imperfections to report in our review. (Note: Even though its back cover indicates a Region-B only status, the release is in fact Region-Free and therefore perfectly playable in all major regions. There is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the Blu-ray disc's main menu).

Deadly Games Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 2.0 and German LPCM 2.0. Optional English and German subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the film with the original French track. Depth, clarity, and stability are excellent, but I am not surprised because the video presentation is just as impressive. In fact, I assume that is that the people that remastered the film spent quite a bit of time to make sure that it also sounds great because there is quite a bit of action footage where sounds and noises become essential. The dialog is easy to follow and always nicely balanced. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report.

Deadly Games Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

BLU-RAY

• Stills Gallery - with audio commentary by Rene Manzor. In French, with imposed German subtitles. (19 min).

• Short Film: Synapses - this short film animated film was created by Rene Manzor and Christian Lignan in 1981. In French, with optional English and German subtitles. (6 min).

• Promotional Materials -
  
  1. French trailer (2 min).
  2. English trailer (2 min).
  3. Italian trailer (3 min).
  4. French teasers (2 min).
  5. French TV Spots (1 min).

DVD

• Bonnie Tyler Music Video - "Merry Christmas" - with audio commentary by Rene Manzor. In French, with imposed German subtitles. (3 min).

• Pre-Trailer Model Shots - with audio commentary by Rene Manzor. In French, with optional English and German subtitles. (3 min).

• Storyboard Comparison - with music. (7 min).

• Alain Musy: Simon Says "Roll Sound" - this archival featurette offers some raw footage from the shooting of the film and clips from archival interviews with Alain Lalanne (Tommy), art director Eric Moulard, cinematographer Paul Gyulay, and producers Francis Lalanne, amongst others. There is also a clip from The Passage with Alain Delon and Alain Lalanne (the latter made his acting debut with it). In French, with optional English and German subtitles. (9 min).

• "To Become a Man" - in this brand new featurette Alain Lalanne recalls how he made his acting debut thanks to Alain Delon, and discusses his iterations with director Rene Manzor and various cast remembers during the shooting of Deadly Games. The actor also talks about a few very interesting meetings he had with Bonnie Tyler, his undying love for the film, and his career as a visual effects artist. The featurette was directed by Federico Caddeo for Camera Obscura and Le Chat qui Fume in 2017. In French, with optional English and German subtitles. (40 min).

• "Forbidden Toys" - in this brand new documentary director Rene Manzor recalls how Deadly Games was conceived and discusses the business climate for genre films in France in the late 1980s/early 1990s, the casting process and his interactions with cast members, the shooting process, the film's visual style and atmosphere, some specific framing choices and how they were meant to enhance the tense atmosphere, etc. The documentary was produced for Camera Obscura and Le Chat qui Fume in 2017. In French, with optional English and German subtitles. (76 min).

Deadly Games Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If a local distributor had decided to invest in Deadly Games and then give it a proper promotion in the U.S during the late 1980s/early 1990s, I think that it could have become quite the hit. This film really has all the right ingredients that genre projects needed at the time to be successful, though my guess is that it was probably deemed unsalable here because it was shot in French. The film has now been fully remastered in 2K and looks gorgeous on Blu-ray. This new release from German label Camera Obscura is also Region-Free and has a wide range of English-friendly bonus features. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.