Sci Fi Pint & Pizza Night with Santa Claus

a live action Mexican Christmas film directed by René Cardona depicting the adventures of Santa Claus in preparation for and during his annual Christmas rounds. While most commercial adaptations of the Santa Claus legend add a distinctive twist to the traditional story, this film is unique in its depiction of a Santa who works from outer space and does battle with a demon sent to Earth by Lucifer to ruin Christmas by killing Santa and “making all the children of the Earth do evil.” Santa’s traditional ability to “see you when you’re sleeping” has long provoked uneasiness in some. Santa Claus gives considerable attention to Santa’s surveillance of children, and his ability to see into their dreams may be particularly unnerving. Moreno’s portrayal of Santa Claus heightens this perception, however inadvertently, as he sometimes appears to be leering at the children or inappropriately excited by the prospect of watching them unseen. The origin of Santa’s child work force is never addressed. Several surreal dream sequences, the depiction of Santa as a bartender dispensing caustic, foaming cocktails, the movement and laughter of the mechanical reindeer, and a scene set in Hell further add to the possible perception of the film as “creepy.”