The Holy Boy: A Village Hiding a Dark Secret

The Holy Boy: A Village with a Dark Secret

The Holy Boy is an Italian horror drama directed by Paolo Strippoli. It poses the disturbing question: What happens when a community projects all of its pain on to a teenager?

Sergio is the troubled teacher who is transferred to Remis, a remote and mysterious village that is considered to be the "happiest" in Italy. For a time, he hopes to restart his life in this remote village, but he soon learns that the people of this village have a secret that disturbingly explains their so-called "happiness."

Every week, the villagers gather around Matteo, a 15 year old boy who is remote and largely uncommunicative. They all believe that if they physically touch or embrace Matteo, they will be freed from their emotional pain and suffering. Sergio quickly realizes that this ritual is psychologically and physically harming Matteo. When he tries to put a stop to it, the community rises up and protects their secret. (AMC Global Media)

Sergio Comes to the Happiest Village in Italy

Michele Riondino is Sergio, the teacher at the center of the story.

Sergio comes to Remis with his own baggage.

This village first appears to provide Sergio with distance from his past and a place where the people seem happy.

But the village is not that kind of happy. Remis has a strange and bizarre ritual that allows the people to be free from their emotional pain.

That discovery puts Sergio in a moral dilemma. He can go along with the village's arrangement, like all the others seem to have done, or he can challenge what that peace costs the teenager being asked to provide it.

Matteo is Known as the Angel of Remis

Giulio Feltri plays 15 year old Matteo Corbin, the central figure of the village's ritual.

Villagers believe that Matteo has an exceptional talent: when someone embraces him, the pain and anguish disappear. Each week, Villagers come to the piazza to achieve that state of bliss. (AMC Global Media)

There are many who believe such a talent could be comforting, but in The Holy Boy, Filippo guides us to the darker side and who suffers from it and who benefits from it.

Sergio begins to see that the community's concern for Matteo is not as it appears. This concern transforms Sergio's view of him from a figure he knows little about to someone he feels he needs to defend.

For all those searching The Holy Boy through Entertainment sites like Moviebox, the film is a supernatural horror story, not the usual mystery concerning the beautiful Italian town.

The Village Turns Against Sergio

Going against Remis's traditions turns the story into something larger than simple interest.

The members of the community have weaved their lives around Matteo's gift. If Sergio takes Matteo away from that, he shatters something of great worth and value for the entire community.

Shudder's description of the film says that after Sergio tries to save Matteo, the community's thirst for vengeance begins.

This creates a unique source of tension for the movie. The threat doesn't come from a supernatural source that acts alone. A group of people justify their actions to perform the ritual to themselves, and therefore, to the community.

This sets up The Holy Boy to explore a community considered perfect, but contains something deeply disturbing and unsettling.

Paolo Strippoli directs the movie.

Paolo Strippoli directs and co-writes the movie with Jacopo Del Giudice and Milo Tissone. The cast also includes Romana Maggiora Vergano as Michela, Roberto Citran as Don Attilio, Paolo Pierobon as Mauro Corbin, Sergio Romano, Anna Bellato, and Sandra Toffolatti. (Rotten Tomatoes)

The movie is approximately 122 minutes long. The production is a joint effort between Italy and Slovenia. (Wikipedia)

Strippoli tells the story from a horror and dark fairytale perspective. The supernatural element is the core of the story, but the larger element is human nature, and how far a person is willing to go in order to protect their comfort, while someone else is literally paying the price.

After its success in Romania, The Holy Boy had its North American Premiere at Fantastic Fest, where Enzo Strippoli won the Next Wave Best Director award. The film also won the Audience Award at the festival, and Shudder scooped up the distribution rights for North America, the UK, and Ireland (AMC Global Media).

The Festival response first brought The Holy Boy to international attention.

People using Moviebox download to find The Holy Boy should know the film already has an international Festival Run, and is not an unknown film, released without Festival screenings.

The International release of The Holy Boy has begun.

Shudder confirmed the film would be released in 2026, though the company did not disclose a specific month or day. (AMC Global Media)

At the center of the movie is Remis and the contrast between his reputation and his true nature. Happiness is a burden and it takes a teenager to take that burden on to keep everyone around him happy.

The Holy Boy turns into a story that explores what happens when a person decides they will not take that burden, making the True nature of things unreveal and possibly unattainable.