Gnarly Xmas

A Christmas horror-comedy  ·  Written by Kyle McNamara

Born with a caul and plagued by visions of the Wild Hunt, an awkward Alpine snowboarder becomes the prime suspect when tourists are slaughtered during a glitzy Christmas competition, and the only one who can stop the killer before his best friend is next.

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The Story

Twas the night
before carnage

In a postcard ski village in the Italian Alps, Christmas means two things: the Perchtenlauf, when horned, fur-covered demons parade through town to drive out the winter spirits, and the Jingle Jam, a glitzy snowboard tournament run by Hayden Hadenson Jr., heir to the Hadenson Snowboards fortune.

Claus, a shy local boarder, has one plan for the holiday: help his best friend V get her big break against the rich kids, and maybe finally give her his grandmother's ring. Then the tourists start dying. The first deaths look like accidents. Then they don't. Bundles of fennel are left at the scenes, a calling card from the old winter spirits.

Claus has been dreaming the murders before they happen. His mother says it's because he was born with a caul, which marks him as one of the Benandanti, ancient protectors who ride out with the Wild Hunt. The detective on the case thinks it makes him a suspect. And after Claus wakes up in the woods with blood on his hands, he isn't sure they're wrong.

With V riding straight into the killer's sights, Claus has to embrace the legend he has spent his whole life laughing off, and get down the mountain before Christmas morning.

"It's not a blessing, it's a curse."Claus
Format
Feature
Genre
Horror-Comedy
Setting
Italian Alps
Budget
~$3M
Production
Black Forest Studios, Germany
Cast
Mostly European
Release
Holiday
Status
Script Complete
The Legend

Old gods. New money.

The horror in Gnarly Xmas comes from real Alpine folklore, in a world the audience hasn't seen a hundred times. The demons are the good guys. Probably.

I

The Perchten

Horned, fanged, fur-covered spirits of the Alpine winter. Every year villagers dress as them and parade through town to frighten off the dark. These days the parade is mostly a tourist attraction, and Claus's mother thinks that's exactly the problem.

II

The Benandanti

The "good walkers," children born with a caul who are said to leave their bodies at night to fight evil and protect the harvest. Claus calls his visions nightmares. His family calls them a calling.

III

The Wild Hunt

A ghostly host that rides the winter sky, led by a luminous White Lady. Claus hears its war cries in the valley. By Christmas, he's riding with it.

Characters

The naughty list

Our Hero

Claus

Shy, awkward and sweet, in a sweat-soaked Metallica tee. Born with a caul, haunted by visions he'd rather call anxiety, and hopelessly in love with his best friend.

The Best Friend

Valerie "V"

Fearless, always laughing, and the most talented rider on the mountain. The Jingle Jam is her shot at the life she has always wanted.

The Golden Boy

Hayden Hadenson Jr.

Rich, gorgeous and sponsored by his father's company. He runs the tournament and the party scene, and he has taken a shine to V.

The Mentor

Old Man Jenkins

Eighty-something, giant beard, kind eyes. He rips down the mountain on a sit-ski in a full Santa suit, and he knows far more about Claus's family than he lets on.

The Law

Detective Bacon

A long-haired mountain man with a keen eye. The more tourists turn up dead, the more interested he gets in Claus.

The Believer

Alessia

Claus's loving and overprotective mother, keeper of the old customs, who insists on calling him Benedetto.

The Eye

Sammy

Hayden's quiet shadow. He's always filming.

Tone

Fresh powder. Fresh blood.

KrampusChristmas folklore horror
Happy Death DaySlasher with a big heart and bigger laughs
Hot FuzzSmall-town murders, outsider cop
Ready or NotRich people, bad night

Krampus meets Hot Fuzz, on a snowboard.

Kyle McNamara
Writer · Producer

Kyle McNamara

Kyle grew up in Boulder, Colorado, and has lived in Rio, St. Thomas and Fiji. He studied film at UCLA, built a steady run of acting credits, and has written multiple features, a television series, novels and a children's book.

Through his company Media Misfits he is developing a slate that includes Two for Juan and Intrusive, a Cannes Script Festival 2026 finalist.

IMDb Full slate
Media Misfits

Come ride with us.

The script, deck and budget are available on request.

Request the script media-misfits.com