Italy was one of the central production countries for horror films at the end of the 1950s. In the 1960s, the market and Great Britain even dominated it in front of the USA. Of course Mario Bava (“Bloody Silk”), Dario Argento (“Suspiria”), Lucio Fulci (“A zombie hung on the bell”), but also names like Riccardo Freda (“The vampire of Notre Dame”), Antonio Margheriti (“Asphaltkannibal”) or Pupi Avati (“The House of Laughing Windows”) Horror's fans have always been known, but at the latest since the advent of the DVD boom at the end of the nineties, an increasingly increasing circle of fans have also conquered themselves in “serious” cinema lovers.
Through the interaction of several factors, the worldwide market for Italian cinema and especially spaghetti horror broke, according to a nickname for this type of cinema, gradually away until this was only a shadow of itself at the end of the 1980s. Of the once proud horror tradition, you hardly notice anything in contemporary Italian cinema, in the genre area Italy is now overtaken by countries with a far less illustrious genre tradition such as France.
It is time to finally wake up
And yet there are always attempts to break through the Sleeping Beauty sleep of the Italian genre film. For example, there would be Gabriele Mainetti (“Kung Fu in Rome”), who always succeeds in a surprising genre mix with unusual concepts. Paolo Strippoli, especially in the horror area, is added: This initially made a name for himself with “A Classic Horror Story”, who was quite well received by Netflix. Then his “Piove” ran at many genre festivals. And now “The Holy Boy”, with the premiere in the midnight rail of the Venice film festival for the first time in the program of an A Festival.
In it, the chronically misunderstood representative teacher Sergio Rossetti (Michele Riondino) opens in the idyllic small mountain village of draw. He is supposed to teach the kids in judo and, as is a matter of a modern horror film, to nibble on a personal trauma. However, his offensive, lousy, is not well received in the valley of the smile (according to the original Italian title “La Valle dei Sorrisi”).
A hug from Matteo (Giulio Feltri) is to remedy this – because a touch of the teenager, the title -giving “holy boy”, is considered an ultimate recipe in the village to heal mental wounds of all kinds. The ritual also seems at Sergio. At the same time, strange incidents and Sergio suspect in the village that it is true that there are truths behind the facade of the peaceful smile …
After a traumatic experience, the ex-Judochampion Sergio Rossetti (Michele Riondino) in the mountain village primarily wants his peace-but mourning in the valley of the smile is particularly reluctant to see …
It is reasonably fascinating that in times when experienced commemorative laws and aspiring, young talents discover the treasure chest of the Italian horror film and sometimes more and less cleverly, which is largely left left by the local directors. “The Holy Boy” is clearly based on the metaphors painted with a wide brush and too spelled -out trauma Elevated horror US cuts (from “Hereditary” to “Weapons”). The color scheme is also less playful to be baroque than with the Italian classics and rather emphasized cloudy and gray. The self -confident playing time of 122 minutes fits seamlessly into the trend. All of this initially makes the film appear very like a imitation.
Nevertheless, it is quite fun. The acting ensemble, especially Michele Riondino (“The Lions of Sicily”) in the leading role, is well played. The gloomy atmosphere of a community held together by religious delusion, which sometimes reminds of the classic “The Wicker Man”, is caught in an ominous and threatening manner. And Strippoli serves well -timed shocks and keeps the audience at a mood. Towards the end, he succeeds in some impressive, nightmare pictures. Some of the spectators in the cinema in Venice were visibly disturbed.
The script would have revised and heard again
However, the film never really comes together dramaturgically, many aspects are torn down and hardly executed or left, for example a very touching subplot about unrequited same -sex love. You always get the impression that Strappoli doesn't really know what he wants to tell. Ultimately, the film levels off too undecided between the dramatic pre -station horror and religious shocker. Nevertheless, interested genre fans can risk a look.
Conclusion: Paolo Strippoli has visibly expanded his hand tool box since the surprising streaming hit “A Classic Horror Story” and brings the 122 minutes playfully and without idling. It is only to be hoped that he can develop his handwriting and create a more independent, more compelling design of the contemporary Italian horror film. It would be desirable.
We saw “The Holy Boy” at the Venice Film Festival 2025, where he celebrated its world premiere as a midnight screening.