5 New Genre Movies Releasing This Week Including ‘Violent Night’ Starring David Harbour

The holiday season is now upon us, and it seems only right that we’re heading into December with a brand new Christmas-themed genre movie arriving in theaters later this week.

I’m of course talking about the David Harbour-starring Violent Night, which features the “Stranger Things” actor as an ass-kicking version of none other than Santa himself.

But that’s not the only new genre movie arriving this week…

Here’s all the new horror headed down the chimney November 28 – December 4, 2022!

This week is all quiet on the horror front until Thursday, December 1, which kicks off with the release of The Harbinger, which has been favorably compared to Nightmare on Elm Street.

In the film from writer/director Andy Mitton, “Monique ventures out of quarantine to visit an old friend who’s plagued by nightmares. She finds herself drawn into a hellish dreamscape where she must face her greatest fears – or risk never having existed at all.”

Joe Lipsett wrote in his review for Bloody Disgusting, “There has been no shortage of COVID-era films, but The Harbinger feels like one of the few that engages with the pandemic in a way that isn’t exploiting or sensationalizing the virus for cheap scares.”

Emily Davis, Gabby Beans, Myles Walker and Raymond Anthony Thomas star.

Travis Stevens (Jakob’s Wife) is back with A Wounded Fawn, a mind-bending new Shudder Original that’s set to premiere on the streaming service on Wednesday, December 1.

The feature film premiered earlier this year at the Tribeca Film Festival to great acclaim, then went on to screen at FrightFest London and Fantastic Fest. 

Inspired by surrealist art and Greek mythology, A Wounded Fawn follows the story of Meredith Tanning (Sarah Lind, Jakob’s Wife), a local museum curator who is dipping her toe back into the dating pool, only to be targeted by a charming serial killer (Josh Ruben, Scare Me, Werewolves Within). When a fateful romantic getaway between the two becomes a tense game of cat and mouse, both must confront the madness within him.

A Wounded Fawn marks the third feature directed by Stevens, who has long been celebrated for his work as an indie producer with credits that include award-winning films such as Adam Wingard’s A Horrible Way To Die, Frank Pavich’s Jodorowsky’s Dune, E.L. Katz’s Cheap Thrills, Ted Geoghegan’s We Are Still Here and Sarah Adina Smith’s Buster’s Mal Heart. 

Co-written by Travis Stevens and Nathan Faudree, the Shudder Original film also stars Malin Barr (The Beta Test, Honeydew) and is produced by Stevens, Joe Barbagallo, via his Barbhouse shingle, and Laurence Gendron, via Genco Pictures. Ksusha Genenfeld served as cinematographer, with the film’s score credited to composer and sound designer Vaaal.

Tommy Wirkola (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Dead Snow) is back with the bloody new movie Violent Night, and Universal is releasing the holiday movie in theaters on December 2.

Violent Night stars David Harbour (“Stranger Things”) as an ass-kicking Santa Claus, and the film was compared to Die Hard by David Harbour at CinemaCon earlier this year.

In the film, “A team of elite mercenaries breaks into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone inside hostage. But the team isn’t prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus (Harbour) is on the grounds, and he’s about to show why this Nick is no saint.”

Beverly D’Angelo (Christmas Vacation), John Leguizamo, Alex Haskell and Alexis Louder also appear in the movie, starring alongside Edi Patterson and Cam Gigandet.

Pat Casey and Josh Miller (Sonic) wrote the movie.

Tilda Swinton stars alongside Tilda Swinton in A24‘s The Eternal Daughter, and the Martin Scorsese-produced ghost story comes to theaters and On Demand this Friday.

Joanna Hogg‘s (The Souvenir) new movie stars Swinton in a dual role.

In The Eternal Daughter, “An artist and her elderly mother confront long-buried secrets when they return to a former family home, now a hotel haunted by its mysterious past.”

A24 previews, “Featuring a towering, deeply moving performance by Tilda Swinton, acclaimed filmmaker Joanna Hogg’s beguiling latest film is a brilliant and captivating exploration of parental relationships and the things we leave behind.”

Joseph Mydell and Carly-Sophia Davies also star.

From 20th Century Studios, Riele Downs stars in the supernatural comedy Darby and the Dead, and the film is set to premiere exclusively on Hulu this Friday, December 2.

Some people never truly leave you…alone. After suffering a near-death experience as a young girl, Darby Harper (Downs) gains the ability to see dead people. As a result, she becomes introverted and shut off from her high school peers and prefers to spend time counseling lonely spirits who have unfinished business on earth.

But all that changes when Capri, the Queen Bee of the school’s most exclusive clique, unexpectedly dies in a freak hair straightening accident, resulting in the obvious cancellation of her upcoming “Sweet 17.” Capri, however, pleads with Darby from the other side to intervene and convince Capri’s friends to proceed with the party as planned. In order to appease the wrath of the undead diva, Darby must emerge from her self-imposed exile and reinvent herself — which along the way allows her to find new joy back in the land of the living.

Darby and the Dead stars Riele Downs, Auli’i Cravalho, Chosen Jacobs, Asher Angel, Wayne Knight, with Derek Luke and Tony Danza, and is directed by Silas Howard.