Shudder acquires Finnish Christmas horror-comedy “Red Snow”: Santa is a vampire — world premiere at Fantastic Fest 2026

Shudder has officially acquired the Finnish Christmas horror-comedy “Red Snow,” Variety reports. The film will have its world premiere at Fantastic Fest 2026 in Austin (September 17–24), and will be available to stream on Shudder after the festival — a streaming date has yet to be announced.

In Finland, 16-year-old emo Johanna dreams of a vampire prince like in “Twilight.” Instead, she gets Martti — a 49-year-old, bald and overweight vampire who dresses as Santa to break into homes and eat entire families. On Christmas Eve, her dreams turn into a nightmare of blood and murdered families: “by morning, the snow will turn red.”

The film is written and directed by Ilja Rautsi, known for “Helsinki Mansplaining Massacre” and “Hatching.” The cast includes Hannu-Pekka Björkman, Anni Iikkanen, Kari Hietalahti, Krista Kosonen, Tommi Korpela and Marja-Liisa Nguyen. Producers are Misha Jaari and Mark Lwoff; co-producers Ivo Felt and Peter Krupenin; executive producers Niki Leskinen and Ari Tolppanen.

Director Rautsi says the idea came from “a lifetime love of horror” and describes the film as “a bloody Christmas gift, made by weirdos for weirdos,” adding he could not have hoped for a better home than Shudder.