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Directed by Brian Kirk, Dead of Winter was released on September 26, 2025. The action thriller features Emma Thompson, Judy Greer, Marc Menchaca, Laurel Marsden, Brían F. O'Byrne, among other cast members. The plot follows Barb (Emma Thompson), a grief-stricken widow driving through a blizzard in Northern Minnesota to scatter her late husband's ashes.
Lost on a backroad, she stops for help at a remote cabin where she finds a young woman being held captive by a desperate, murderous couple. Isolated with no cell service, Barb, a skilled woman accustomed to the harsh wilderness, realizes she is the captive's only hope for survival. Using her wits and outdoor skills, she outsmarts the armed kidnappers and saves the girl from their deadly plan.
Dead of Winter was filmed mainly in Finland (specifically in Koli) and Germany (in North Rhine-Westphalia), despite the movie being set in the isolated, snow-bound tundra of Northern Minnesota. These locations were used to stand in for the frigid American setting.
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Dead of Winter filming location and production details
Dead of Winter was mainly filmed in Finland and Germany. Outdoor filming took place in the snow-covered forests and hilltops of Koli, North Karelia, Finland, which was chosen to represent rural Minnesota. Interior and controlled environment shots, including snowstorm scenes, were completed in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with key studio work taking place at MMC Studios in Cologne and additional filming taking place in Bonn.
The film was a joint production effort, driven by multiple companies including Stampede Ventures (US) and Augenschein Filmproduktion (Germany). The main producers were Greg Silverman, Jon Berg, Jonas Katzenstein, and Maximilian Leo. Lead actress Emma Thompson also served as an Executive Producer. The creative team featured the screenwriters Nicholas Jacobson-Larson and Dalton Leeb.
The supporting production staff included Oscar-winning composer Volker Bertelmann, known for All Quiet on the Western Front and cinematographer Christopher Ross, known for Shōgun. Dead of Winter, titled initially The Fisherwoman, premiered at the Locarno Film Festival on August 8, 2025, before its U.S. theatrical release on September 26, 2025.
What is Dead in Winter about?
Dead of Winter follows Barb, a widowed fisherwoman, traveling to a remote, snowbound lake in Northern Minnesota to scatter her late husband's ashes. Her journey is violently interrupted when her truck breaks down near an isolated cabin. Barb stumbles upon a desperate and armed couple holding a teenage girl captive in their basement.
Cut off from civilization and without phone service, Barb realizes she is the young victim’s only hope. She is compelled to save the girl from the homicidal kidnappers using her wilderness skills and intelligence. The film explores themes of grief, resilience, and survival against a brutal natural environment, examining how a seemingly ordinary woman finds extraordinary courage to save a life.
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