

In the past few days Rome has been the scene of a singular event: when it rains, the manholes exhale a dense steam whose origin and composition is unknown. No one can imagine that whoever breathes in the mysterious substance will have to deal with what he/she represses, their darkest instincts, their anger. Not even the Morel family.
Direction
Strippoli turns Rome's humidity into a suffocating character
Acting
Rongione's controlled implosion as the hollow patriarch
Production
That steam—gross, beautiful, deeply wrong

Director
Paolo Strippoli
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Strippoli taps into Italy's giallo fascination with beautiful cities hiding rot, but swaps stylized kills for the horror of watching a family politely destroy itself.
The manhole steam was achieved with practical effects—heated glycerin mixtures shot against Roman locations, giving the fog its unsettling organic texture.