Guess who’s coming over to party? It’s the Christmas Gimp. Though that reference itself is nearly forty years old, the joke still lands in what looks like one of the craziest movies of the year, mixing Halloween horrors and yuletide spirit for a fine holiday mix, the likes of which we haven’t quite seen since A Nightmare Before Christmas. Yes, it’s the new trailer for Christmas at the Kringles.
The neighbors have gone completely Christmas-crazy in this latest sneak peek at Christmas at the Kringles, and apparently there’s only one thing to do when the people next door start hypnotizing and indoctrinating your family: Find a badass Santa and start killing your way out.
Ron Livingston and Rachel Bilson star as Mark and Julie Severson, a couple who move their family into a quiet suburban neighborhood hoping for a fresh start. Unfortunately, their new neighbors, the Kringles, celebrate Christmas year-round. At first, the Kringles just seem like extremely enthusiastic Christmas people. You know the type. The house is decorated like Santa vomited a department store onto the lawn, Christmas music is probably playing 24/7, and there’s a disturbing amount of holiday cheer happening next door.
Then the Seversons’ son starts becoming increasingly attached to the Kringles, and things take a decidedly darker turn. Mark eventually discovers that the family isn’t just obsessed with Christmas. They want to hypnotize and indoctrinate the Seversons into their bizarre holiday cult. Naturally, Mark responds to this completely reasonable suburban nightmare by teaming up with a rogue Santa Claus. And this is where the new trailer goes absolutely off the rails.
Christmas at the Kringles appears to be embracing the idea that Christmas horror doesn’t necessarily need to be particularly scary when it can instead be completely insane. The trailer serves up chainsaws, weapons, bondage, a beheading and a severed head that gets turned into a Christmas tree topper. There’s also what can only be described as a Christmas Gimp wandering around this increasingly deranged holiday celebration.
So yeah, this isn’t exactly A Christmas Carol. The movie comes from Kevin Lewis, the director behind Willy’s Wonderland, which makes a lot more sense once you see the trailer. Lewis previously unleashed Nicolas Cage on a building full of murderous animatronic mascots, so apparently the natural next step was to unleash a rogue Santa on a suburban Christmas cult.
The cast is just as wonderfully weird. Livingston and Bilson are joined by Rob Riggle, Arden Myrin, Beverly D’Angelo, Donald Faison and Thomas Lennon. Riggle is the man in the Santa suit who apparently has no problem getting violent when the holiday spirit goes bad. Zack Imbrogno wrote the screenplay, with Lewis among the producers.
Perhaps the funniest part of the whole thing is when this movie is coming out. Briarcliff Entertainment is bringing Christmas at the Kringles to theaters on October 30, 2026, meaning you can celebrate Halloween weekend with a movie about a family of Christmas-obsessed neighbors trying to brainwash an unsuspecting family. Honestly, that feels about right.
If you’re looking for something to watch between A Nightmare Before Christmas and putting up your own Christmas decorations way too early, the Kringles are waiting next door.
