The Stranger

As far as cinema is concerned, 2026 was definitely the year of horror – we are aware that this assessment may upset director Paolo Strippoli. He rejects the label, convinced it could harm him: audiences are either die-hard fans or they simply do not like the genre. This summer, however, we had Kane Parsons’ Backrooms and Curry Barker’s Obsession: being part of the genre isn’t a ghetto, especially when you consider the box office takings. For L’estranea, the critics’ acclaim – not all of them, forgive them for they know not what they do – has already arrived; now it’s the audience’s turn. It is now the Italian entry for the Oscars – something is changing. Paolo Strippoli tells the scariest story of them all – according to Stephen King. It is known as "La zampa di scimmia": a talisman with the power to grant wishes. In the original story, there are three, and each one makes the first disaster worse. The action unfolds in a beautiful southern Italian villa, where the family is celebrating a major business success—their boutique is thriving. The father is played by Adriano Giannini, while the mother is portrayed by Jasmine Trinca. As the garden party is set to begin, the family dog suddenly bites their daughter Alice on one leg, just as she is preparing for a crucial TV audition. The distraught mother turns to a mysterious woman in a raincoat whom she met at the hospital. Her daughter recovers, but something must be offered in return. Now her son is starting to put on an excessive amount of weight.