The full Fantastic Fest 2026 lineup was announced this week and it’s packed with upcoming horror titles that we cannot wait to see. Fantastic Fest is back this year for its 21st edition, unleashing a jam-packed week of face-melting genre cinema from September 17-24.
One of the genre films that caught our attention on this year’s lineup is Red Snow, a Finnish horror-comedy that marks the feature directorial debut of Hatching writer Ilja Rautsi.
Red Snow will World Premiere at Fantastic Fest this coming September.
In Red Snow, “A vampire posing as Santa Claus invades the home of a family whose rebellious teenage daughter wants only one thing: to become a vampire herself and escape her miserable life.”
Here’s the longer official synopsis:
“In Finland, sixteen-year-old emo teen Johanna dreams of a glittering Twilight vampire prince. What she gets instead is Martti — a balding, beer-bellied 49-year-old bloodsucker who slips into a Santa suit to gain entry to homes and devour entire families. When Johanna crosses paths with Martti on Christmas Eve, she thinks her dark fairy tale has come true. But instead of eternal romance, she finds herself trapped in a bloody and horrific nightmare of aging masculine toxicity, family trauma, and festive slaughter. By morning, the snow will turn red.”
Hannu-Pekka Björkman and Anni Iikkanen lead the cast of the horror-comedy.
Red Snow will release in Finland on November 20, 2026.
No word yet on a U.S. release plan. Stay tuned for updates.
