“Yellowjackets” star is having a killer Christmas in trailer for slasher-comedy “It's a Wonderful Knife”

The slasher-comedy It's a Wonderful Knife (out Nov. 10) pays horrific homage to a certain Jimmy Stewart-starring 1946 holiday favorite.

"It's a Wonderful Knife is a spin on the classic It's a Wonderful Life," explains director Tyler MacIntyre (Tragedy Girls, V/H/S/99). "It's about a young woman named Winnie Carruthers who lives in this town that's obsessed with Christmas. There's this tragedy that strikes the town, and she rises to the occasion, but her best friend is killed. We jump forward a year, and she's wracked with guilt, and she's unable to move on, and in her spiral she ends up making this wish that maybe things would be better if she didn't exist. She wakes up into a nightmare version of this town, and there's many more people dead, and it's up to her to solve this mystery before it's too late."

Courtesy of RLJE and Shudder Jane Widdop in 'It's a Wonderful Knife'

Winnie is played by Jane Widdop, who portrayed the character of Laura on Yellowjackets, of which MacIntyre is a fan. The director says that he "loved that cast, loved that show, and thought [Widdop's] character was a great comic relief, but also had a lot of heart. They were on my list of younger performers to consider when we were trying to find Winnie and they just did an amazing read."

It's A Wonderful Knife is written by Michael Kennedy (Freaky) and the film's supporting cast includes Jess McLeod, Joel McHale, and Justin Long, who plays the town mayor.

"I've been a huge fan of Justin's work for many years and I love the out-there stuff like Tusk," says MacIntyre. "I was looking for a big Christmas villain. We talked about a lot of references of showman-politicians, and that sort of baby boomer-smarminess, and he was channeling some of that."

So what does MacIntyre think Jimmy Stewart would make of his high body count reimagining of the actor's film?

"I love Jimmy Stewart," says the director. "He's my template for a very empathetic performer. Nobody is as nice in real life as Jimmy Stewart is in my mind. I can't really even imagine him disliking something, let alone our movie."

It's a Wonderful Knife will have its world premiere at Beyond Fest in Los Angeles on Oct. 8. The film opens Nov. 10 in theaters. Check out the exclusive trailer for It's a Wonderful Knife above.

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