Paolo Strippoli's Italian horror film The Holy Boy (La valle dei sorrisi) is finally getting its Shudder release on November 27, after it has been doing the festival rounds since its premiere at Venice last year.
The film is set in Remis, a secluded Italian village known for having some of the happiest residents in the country. Sergio (Michele Riondino) arrives there as a new teacher, hoping for a fresh start, but soon discovers the reason behind the villagers' unusually cheerful behavior. Every week they gather to embrace Matteo (Giulio Feltri), a fifteen-year-old boy whose touch can take away their pain and sorrow. The locals see him as an angel, but there's something rather unpleasant going on behind all those hugs.
Riondino and Feltri lead the cast, with Paolo Pierobon, Romana Maggiora Vergano, Sergio Romano, Anna Bellato, Sandra Toffolatti and Roberto Citran also appearing. Strippoli wrote the film with Jacopo Del Giudice and Milo Tissone, and it's his third feature after A Classic Horror Story and Piove.
The Holy Boy premiered out of competition at the 2025 Venice Film Festival before heading to Fantastic Fest, where it picked up the Audience Award and Next Wave Best Director Award. It also screened at the BFI London Film Festival. Shudder announced its acquisition shortly after the Fantastic Fest screenings, although the actual release date has taken a little longer to arrive.
The film runs for 122 minutes and is in Italian, with subtitles for its international release. Strippoli's earlier A Classic Horror Story, which he co-directed with Roberto De Feo, was released on Netflix, while Piove went on to play several genre festivals. He's clearly been building a name for himself in Italian horror, and The Holy Boy is his latest feature.
The Holy Boy arrives on Shudder on November 27, 2026, in the US, UK and Ireland.