Written by Shannon Langes. Photo courtesy of IMDb.
Ali Abbasi’s “Holy Spider” is based on the real-life of Saeed Hanaei, an Iranian serial killer dubbed the “Spider Killer” after the murder of 16 sex workers in the Iranian holy city of Mashhad between the years of 2000 and 2001. The film follows Rahimi, a female journalist investigating the murders, as she navigates misogyny and conservative backlash in her quest to unveil the killer.
Zar Amir-Ebrahimi gives a powerful performance as Rahimi. Rahimi is a tenacious protagonist who rebels against the sexism of both professional journalism and Iran’s Modesty Police, toeing the line of propriety by refusing to stay silent when her morals are on the line. Rahimi treats the sex workers of Maghhad like people, rather than dismissing their struggles, making her the only person in the film to do so.
“Holy Spider” is an examination of the culture that bred a killer. The misogyny that Rahimi faces throughout the film is systemic, and that same misogyny allows Saeed to get away with his murders. Saeed claimed that by killing prostitutes he was, “waging a jihad against vice” and fulfilling a tenet of his religion. Many of the more conservative citizens of Mashhad support Saeed’s gruesome acts, praising him as a hero.
Despite the graphic nature of the film, “Holy Spider” never crosses the line into glorifying Saeed’s violence. Saeed’s victims are represented as women who have been abandoned by society doing whatever they must to survive. The suffering of these women is visceral, making Abbasi’s criticism of Mashhad’s culture much more effective.
Abbasi’s work is moving, timely and absolutely terrifying. “Holy Spider” is a film that sinks into your bones and stays with you.
