In the past few days, Rome has been experiencing an unexplainable event: when it rains, the sewers exhale a dense steam whose origin and composition are unknown, causing mass hallucinations. Meanwhile, one family relives the events leading up to a terrible accident that destroyed their lives.

Recalling the frenzy-inducing viral outbreak of George A. Romero’s The Crazies, this haunting film carves a distinctly Roman mark into the canon of contagion horror. Injecting dread into family dynamics, Italian director Paolo Strippoli slathers their violent outbursts in messy, tactile gunk.