The official trailer and poster for A Cold Season (USA - 2026) are now online. The Christmas psychological horror movie features a psychotic Santa Claus and was written and directed by Christian Jude Grillo and produced by Andrew Hunsicker for Intruder Films. A Cold Season will be released in the United States on November 10, 2026, through MVD Entertainment Group.
Against a backdrop of snow-covered landscapes and Christmas imagery, the film turns the holiday season into a story shaped by grief, violence and psychological deterioration, subverting the comforting atmosphere traditionally associated with Christmas.
The story centers on Jacob White, played by Andrew Hunsicker, a lonely man whose quiet winter routine conceals a string of murders. As his grip on reality begins to deteriorate, a mysterious double emerges, seemingly pushing him further toward violence and madness.
A Cold Season continually blurs the line between what is actually happening and what may exist only inside Jacob's mind.
To establish the film's atmosphere, the production embraced the real Pennsylvania winter rather than recreating it on a soundstage or through visual effects. Filming took place across Bedford, Berks and Blair counties, making use of real snowfall, mountain terrain, strong winds, wind turbines and the Blue Knob area. The natural environment became a central part of the film's visual identity.
For Grillo, the winter setting was conceived as an extension of the protagonist's psychological state, while the Christmas backdrop creates a deliberate contrast with a story dominated by loneliness and mental deterioration.
The director explained: “We wanted winter to feel like another character in the film. The landscape is beautiful, but there's also something incredibly isolating about it. That became the perfect environment for Jacob's state of mind.”
A Cold Season is the third feature completed by Grillo and Hunsicker through Intruder Films in just over two years, following the sci-fi horror movie Intruder and the psychological thriller Neighbor. Although the three films explore different areas of genre cinema, they share an interest in isolated characters, psychological pressure and deteriorating trust.
The cast of A Cold Season includes Andrew Hunsicker, Julie Chapin, Paul Monte Jr., Elijah Santoro, Frank Volpe, Daijah Lilly, Cait Wiley, Elizabeth Gehman, Jake Hunsicker and Christian Jude Grillo.
Watch the official trailer:
Official poster:
