‘Holy Spider’ Movie Review [Beyond Fest 2022]: Ali Abbasi’s Brutal Serial Killer Drama Explores Societal Exploitation

Filmmaker Ali Abbasi makes an infuriating and terrifying cultural feature with Holy Spider. He tries to avoid making any political or religious statement, but the subject he chose requires it. This serial killer drama explores the fascinating, yet enraging idea of a culture that predominantly celebrated a man’s misogynistic killings of female sex workers. Holy Spider is consistently engaging, but its perspective gives too much sympathy to a man and his twisted ideas that deserve none.

‘Holy Spider’ introduces a misogynist killer based on a true story

Based on the Spider Killer’s 2000-2001 crimes in Iran, Holy Spider takes place in the dark underbelly of Mashhad. Rahimi (Zar Amir-Ebrahimi) is a journalist who enters the city with the intent of digging into the brutal murders of female sex workers. She questions why the police haven’t found a shred of evidence to track him down, but it’s because they aren’t actually looking very hard to find him.

Little does Rahimi realize, when Saeed (Mehdi Bajestani) isn’t prowling the streets for his next victim, he’s a family man. He has a wife and children, but intends to keep the two parts of his life separate. However, Saeed doesn’t believe that he’s doing anything wrong – he thinks that he’s cleansing the streets of sinners.

Writer/director Ali Abbasi peeks into a society that created a monster

Holy Spider opens with the following text: “Every man shall meet what he wishes to avoid.” The more literal meaning behind this quote applies to the Spider Killer as a man who tries to evade sin and his community from discovering his actions. However, another way of looking at this quote is to remove gender from its use of “man” and apply it to all humans, including the female sex workers he hunts. Abbasi’s initial perspective character is a woman who becomes a victim via strangulation. Mashhad contains many dangers for sex workers, and this killer intends to serve every woman like her exactly what they wish to avoid – hatred, violence, and death.

Misogyny overflows every corner of the narrative. Rahimi travels alone and finds herself unable to check herself into a hotel room without a man accompanying her until she presents herself as a journalist. Even in a socially respectable career, she’s unable to escape the culture’s prejudices that also haunt the sex workers. Other people define Rahimi by the men who exploit her, regardless of whether that’s a previous employer or the self-righteous Spider Killer who yearns to see his crimes end up in the newspaper.

The Spider Killer only pursues the women he perceives as “corrupt” by his own moral and religious compass. However, this comes from a place of inadequacy, as he seeks to find meaning in his life. Despite having a family that relies on him, he pursues the path of martyrdom, which only further displays the corruption of power in Iran. Unfortunately, the Spider Killer isn’t alone in his vile beliefs that deem certain lives as “worthless,” “disgusting,” and worth ending for good.

‘Holy Spider’ is a frustrating, but captivating crime drama

Abbasi filmed Holy Spider in Jordan, but it’s clear that the spirit of Mashhad is a character all its own. The film goes to great lengths to make the city come alive, often utilizing city sounds and the bass in cars passing to generate a natural uneasiness. The streets never feel safe when viewed through a woman’s eyes.

The Spider Killer’s identity is intentionally revealed early on, removing all of the tension from Rahimi’s investigation for the truth. Abbasi and Afshin Kamran Bahrami’s screenplay puts emphasis on the drama than the thriller in this true crime story. Saeed’s identity doesn’t really matter for the point that they’re getting at, which is how culture has the power to create and support a serial killer. The most haunting element of this is how it has the ability to encourage other killers to take their place.

Tragically, this provides Saeed with the most substantially dramatic moments. Rahimi is the lens that allows the audience to somewhat relate to this world, as she’s not a local to the area. However, it takes the power away from her narrative. The killer has more character development, while Rahimi’s character arc is hardly visible. The Spider Killer’s hatred of “corrupt” women and viewing them as worthless objects perhaps isn’t critiqued as much as it should be. Abbasi presents a male gaze into the lives and worth of sex workers, failing to give them nuance.

He wants the story of the Spider Killer to exist in a vacuum of cultural intrigue, but to ignore the other factors that play into his narrative is a disservice. Amir-Ebrahimi turns in a phenomenal performance, but much like the sex workers, her character is tossed aside, only worth the lens that she serves as for the viewer. Nevertheless, it’s an experience guaranteed to spark a reaction. Holy Spider is an emotionally stomach-churning crime drama that’s sure to leave your fists clenched with anger.

Holy Spider is Denmark’s official submission for the 95th Academy Awards for Best International Feature.