#horrors

"Valley of Smiles" (2025, Italy, Slovenia)

I continue to explore European cinema, this time thanks to @worldpicturesrus, who brought Italian post-horror, which in vibes reminds me of several films at once — "Silent Hill" [for me, to the least extent], "Midsommar" and "The Others"

In my opinion, there are two layers of meaning here. The first, simpler one, is that any action has a price, and sometimes not only we have to pay, but also others who have involuntarily become part of someone else's [our] story. A phrase comes to mind: your freedom ends where another's freedom begins.
The second layer is about experiencing trauma and grief, about trying to escape from pain instead of accepting it and making that traumatic experience part of yourself. One layer flows from the other.
Here, memory is shown not as salvation or consolation, but as an uncontrollable force that keeps a person captive to nightmares and pain, making them their own worst enemy.
And faith is shown here not as a source of strength, but as a source of pain and evil in general.

Like "Midsommar", "Valley of Smiles" explores human trauma through collective experience [not just personal], showing what can happen if a community refuses to accept the past and tries to build a future from a clean, impersonal slate. True, in Aster's film, purification from the past occurs through fire, while in "Valley" they choose a softer approach.

In fact, "Valley of Smiles" is more of a drama than a horror. Compared to familiar American post-horrors, there isn't much suspense here. At times, the film even drags and lacks the dynamics to hit as hard as "Midsommar" or "The Others". But nevertheless, it is a curious and ethically controversial film about sectarianism, escape from reality, and people ready to do anything to avoid facing their pain. And atheists like me might also see a critique of religion.

I think fans of post-horror will like "Valley of Smiles"

From July 9, already in our distribution across the country

#reviews