Dead of Winter Trailer Featuring Emma Thompson
Vertical has released the official trailer for Brian Kirk’s action thriller Dead of Winter, starring and executive produced by Emma Thompson (Love Actually, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande). The film will be released in theaters on September 26, 2025.
Dead of Winter also stars Judy Greer, Marc Menchaca, Laurel Marsden, Gaia Wise, Cuan Hosty-Blaney, Dalton Leeb, Paul Hamilton, and Lloyd Hutchinson, with Brian F. O’Byrne.
Hit by a blizzard, a grief-stricken loner (Emma Thompson) gets lost among backroads near a Minnesota lake and stops for help at a remote cabin in the woods.
Here she discovers a young woman (Laurel Marsden) kidnapped by a desperate couple (Judy Greer, Marc Menchaca) who are armed and intent on murder. Isolated and without cell service, this unlikely hero realizes she is the woman’s only hope of survival.
With the screenplay by Nicholas Jacobson-Larson and Dalton Leeb, Dead of Winter is Brian Kirk’s follow-up to the 2019 movie 21 Bridges.
“The Dead of Winter is a merciless thriller, set in an epic wilderness with a beautiful love story at its heart. Emma Thompson gives a stunning performance unlike anything she has ever done before,” stated Kirk. “The movie has been a passion project for all of us, and we are thrilled to have partnered with Vertical, who feel as strongly as we do that this is a movie that will live with audiences, long after they have left the cinema.”
“The Dead of Winter embodies everything we love at Vertical – an outstanding cast, a gripping premise, and a visionary director. We can’t wait to bring it to North American audiences later this year,” added Vertical partner Peter Jarowey.
The film, previously known as The Fisherwoman and The Dead of Winter, was produced by Jon Berg and Greg Silverman of Stampede Ventures, Jonas Katzenstein and Maximilian Leo of augenschein, and is executive produced by Emma Thompson, Gideon Yu, Chris Bosco, Elizabeth A. Bell, Oana Iancu, Jonathan Saubach, Klaus Dohle, Michael Rothstein, and Samuel Hall.
The additional below-the-line talent includes director of photography Christopher Ross (Shogun), production designer David Hindle (Matilda: The Musical), editor Tim Murrell (Monkey Man), and costume designer Natalie Humphries (The Day of the Jackal).
The casting was by John Papsidera (Oppenheimer) and Nathan Toth, and the music was by Volker Bertelmann (All Quiet on the Western Front). Leonine Studios and ZDF acted as co-producers, North.Five.Six. is handling the international sales.
