New York, NY – September 18, 2026 – Shudder announced today that it has acquired “Red Snow,” the Finnish horror-comedy from writer-director Ilja Rautsi, for release on the streaming platform on December 15th. The film marks Rautsi’s feature directorial debut after his work as co-writer on the acclaimed horror films “Hatching” and “Nightborn,” and will make its world premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 20th.
“Red Snow” takes place in Finland, where 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 family trauma and festive slaughter. By morning, the snow will turn red.
Ilja Rautsi is a Finnish screenwriter and director with a special interest in genre films. He wrote the horror feature “Hatching” (2022, directed by Hanna Bergholm, US distribution by IFC Midnight), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Ilja’s other screenwriting credits include “Memory of Water” (2022, directed by Saara Saarela, adapted from the novel by Emmi Itäranta) and the children’s sci-fi comedy “Snot and Splash” (2023, directed by Teemu Nikki), which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival. For his latest works, Ilja co-wrote the feature children’s animation “Fleak” (2025, directed by Jens Møller), which premiered at Annecy, as well as “Nightborn,” the new horror feature written with director Hanna Bergholm, which premiered in competition at Berlinale 2026 and was released on Shudder.
Filmmaker Ilja Rautsi stated, “‘Red Snow’ comes from my lifetime of love for all things horror, so I’m beyond thrilled to have the film be so widely available on Shudder. It’s a splattery Christmas present made by freaks for freaks. I couldn’t hope for a better home.”
“‘Red Snow’ is exactly the kind of wild, original genre filmmaking that Shudder audiences embrace,” said Emily Gotto, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and Productions at Shudder. “Ilja Rautsi has created a film that envisions a funny, bloody, and genuinely surprising Christmas nightmare.”
Hannu-Pekka Björkman and Anni Iikkanen lead the cast of “Red Snow.” The film is produced by Misha Jaari and Mark Lwoff for Bufo and co-produced by Ivo Felt for Allfilm and Peter Krupenin for HOBAB. The acquisition was negotiated by Emily Gotto on behalf of Shudder with Charades on behalf of the filmmakers.