It's official: Kevin Smith's festive fright film Anti-Claus is a go.

Moreover, the yuletide horror movie will reunite him with Tusk stars Justin Long, Haley Joel Osment, Genesis Rodriguez and Michael Parks.

Smith dropped hints about the film -- initially titled Comes the Krampus -- earlier this year, saying he would shoot it before Clerks III.

XYZ Films will launch the project to foreign buyers at the upcoming Cannes film market (XYZ also sold Tusk to international distributors). WME Global is representing domestic rights.

Jordan Monsanto, Andy McElfresh and Jennifer Schwalbach are producing Anti-Claus for Smith’s SModcast Pictures, with Jason Mewes executive producing.

Anti-Claus tells the tale of the centuries-old, devil-like creature known the world-over as the Krampus – the “Anti-Claus” of Alpine country folklore, infamous for eating naughty children during the season of giving. Here, The Hollywood Reporter debuts a rendering of the character that is being used for the film.

“When I was a kid, if they wanted to make a Christmas horror movie, they’d stick an axe in Santa’s hands,” says Smith, who is set to start shooting in September. “In Anti-Claus, we leave Santa alone and creep with the Krampus through twisted tales of holly-jolly murder, desire, desperation and despair. Just in time for the holiday season.”

Continuing, Smith says, “In America, we’re taught that nice kids gets presents from Santa and naughty kids get coal. But in countries like Germany, Austria, Bavaria, Romania and Hungary, Christmas is more metal than merry: Saint Nicholas brings a sack full of toys for good kids and the Krampus carries an empty bag for taking away the bad kids. I wanna see THAT Christmas movie. So rather than wait for it, we’ll make it instead.”

Robert Kurtzman, the SFX legend behind the makeup for Tusk, also returns to create the Krampus. Tusk, set for release late this year in theaters around the globe, will be distributed in the U.S. by A24 Films.

Long, whose upcoming films include Undiscovered Gyrl, The Lookalike and Comet, is repped by ICM Partners and Intellectual Artists Management.

The Sixth Sense star Osment has been starring on Amazon's Alpha House. His upcoming film projects include The World Made Straight and the Entourage film. He's repped by Resolution, The Schiff Compant and Edelstein, Laird.

Along with Tusk, Rodriguez's upcoming films include Run All Night with Liam Neeson. She's repped by CAA, DePaz Management and Jackoway Tyerman.

Kevin Smith Filming Horror Movie ‘Killroy Was Here’ at Florida College

Dave McNary Film Reporter
JUNE 15, 2017 | 02:36PM PT

Kevin Smith has started shooting horror movie “Killroy Was Here” in Florida in partnership with Ringling College of Art and Design and Semkhor Productions.

Smith has focused in recent years on horror and comedy with last year’s “Yoga Hosers,” a spinoff from 2014’s “Tusk,” and 2011’s “Red State.” “Killroy” stems from a conversation taken from one of his weekly podcasts.

The phrase “Killroy Was Here” originated in American culture as graffiti during World War II as a bald-headed man with a big nose peeking over a wall with the fingers of each hand clutching the wall. Smith said the new film will be the first installment of a horror anthology.

“This is a monster movie in the sense of a classic morality tale,” Smith said. “No one wants to see you spill the blood of innocents, but when someone crosses the line and goes bad, you get to make them pay in horrible ways, and the audience cheers. We wanted to make an anthology film in the vein of ‘Creepshow.’ Killroy is like the Golem, the Boogeyman and the Grim Reaper combined.”

Smith broke out in 1994 with the black comedy “Clerks,” made from $27,000. That led to “Mallrats,” “Chasing Amy,” “Dogma” and “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” — all set in New Jersey with the stoner duo of Jay and Silent Bob, played by Jason Mewes and Smith.

Smith’s top grossing film is 2010’s action-comedy “Cop Out,” starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan, with $55 million worldwide. “Yoga Hosers” starred Johnny Depp’s daughter Lily-Rose Depp and Harley Quinn Smith premiered at Sundance in 2016.

“I tried going to film school but quit to go make a movie,” Smith said. “If I’d had the chance to work with a real director, I probably would’ve graduated. Although I don’t consider myself a real director, but I do play one on TV and am portraying one again as we shoot Killroy in Sarasota!”

David Shapiro, Semkhor Productions founder and “Killroy” executive producer, said the movie integrates both practical and digital effects in a very short time on a very tight budget. “Our goal is to help Ringling students and local residents gain the right kind of experience to become a top tier entertainment workforce with which to attract bigger and more complex productions to Sarasota,” he said.

Producers are Andrew McElfresh, who also co-wrote the film; Tony Stopperan of Ringling College of Art and Design; Joe Restaino, owner of Character Brigade; Ringling graduate Nick Morgulis; and Smith’s producer Jordan Monsanto. The leads in the film are Azita Ghanizada (“Alphas”) and Ryan O’Nan (“Fargo”).