Firebook Entertainment has set a U.S. theatrical release date for Dirty Boy, the psychological thriller from writer-director Doug Rao. Following its world premiere at the Marché du Film in Cannes and UK premiere at Raindance, the film will open in theaters in select cities across the U.S. on September 19, 2025.
Dirty Boy stars Stan Steinbichler (Zero Chill, Vienna Blood) as Isaac, a withdrawn young man raised in an isolated cult and battling schizophrenia. When a string of ritualistic murders rattles the community, Isaac becomes the prime suspect. As reality begins to blur, he’s forced to confront the horrors of his past—and the disturbing truth behind the group that raised him.
The ensemble cast includes Graham McTavish (House of the Dragon), Susie Porter (Gold), Honor Gillies (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes), Olivia Chenery (Brotherhood), and Luke Fetherston (Picture This).
A co-production between Dirty Boy Films, Mystic Dream Story Studio, Stone Hill, and Saint Halo Productions, Dirty Boy is produced by Marek Lichtenberg, Giles Alderson, and Sarah-Anne Grill.
Firebook Entertainment is handling U.S. theatrical distribution and worldwide sales.
The film joins Firebook’s growing slate of bold, elevated genre fare including Izaac Ezban’s Párvulos: Children of the Apocalypse, Irish-language horror The Ghost (An Taibhse), and the upcoming theatrical releases of Broken Bird, the UK thriller directed by Joanne Mitchell, and 1978, the Argentinian supernatural horror from the producers of What the Waters Left Behind and The Last Heretics.
Unnerving, stylish, and emotionally raw, Dirty Boy has drawn early comparisons to Saint Maud, The Lodge, and Midsommar. Told entirely through Isaac’s fractured perspective, the film explores themes of religious trauma, mental illness, and identity disintegration.
“What hooked us was Doug’s refusal to play it safe,” said John Moss, CEO of Firebook Entertainment. “Dirty Boy doesn’t pull punches – it traps you inside Isaac’s mind and refuses to let go. We knew right away this was a film we had to champion.”
