It might only be April, but we’re getting into the Christmas spirit early. Deadline have exclusively announced that Jane Widdop (Yellowjackets), Joel McHale (Community) and scream king Justin Long (Barbarian) will lead It’s A Wonderful Knife, an upcoming festive slasher from Tragedy Girls director Tyler MacIntyre and Freaky writer Michael Kennedy.
With that cast, creative team and title alone, we’re already sold, but here’s the official plot synopsis if you still need convincing:
“Set in idyllic Angel Falls, a year after saving her town from a psychotic killer on Christmas Eve, Winnie Carruthers’ (Widdop) life is less than wonderful — but when she wishes she’d never been born, she finds herself in a nightmare parallel universe and discovers that without her, things could be much, much worse. Now the killer is back, and she must team up with the town misfit to identify the killer and get back to her own reality.”
McHale is playing Winnie’s father David, while Long plays the town patron Mr Waters. Deadline have also shared the first look image that you saw above of Widdop rocking a very cosy looking sweater.
At FANGORIA, we’re always down for more festive frights to add to our annual Christmas watchlist. Here’s an exclusive quote from Michael Kennedy on what inspired him to set the slasher during the most wonderful time of the year:
“I love Christmas movies and I love slasher movies. And I’ve always wanted to combine both. For me, there’s no better way to do that than by honoring the classic It’s A Wonderful Life through the lens of blood, guts, and mayhem. Merry Christmas.”
Independent Entertainment (We Need to Talk About Kevin) and Kennedy are executive-producing the Christmas horror, with Divide/Conquer (Freaky, M3GAN) and Seth Caplan (Brooklyn 45) in association with Fourth Culture Films (The Reckoning) in producing roles.
Independent are launching sales ahead of the upcoming Cannes Market, where lucky attendees will be shown a promo. A North American theatrical deal is also currently in the works (presumably towards the end of the year).
Just like Santa, we’ll be bringing you all the presents (updates on It’s A Wonderful Knife) as and when we get them, so watch this space!
