CrimeDramaThriller

Holy Spider

A journalist descends into the dark underbelly of the Iranian holy city of Mashhad as she investigates the serial killings of sex workers by the so called "Spider Killer", who believes he is cleansing the streets of sinners.

Release Date : 2022-07-13

Language :EnglishSpanishPersian

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Profile PicturesOne Two FilmsNordisk Film SwedenGoodfellasFilm i VästWhy Not ProductionsZDF/ArteARTE France CinémaThe Imaginarium FilmsRotor Film

Production Country : DenmarkFranceGermanyJordanSweden

Alternative Titles : Holy Spider

Cast

Character Name : Rahimi

Original Name : Zar Amir Ebrahimi

Gender : Female

Character Name : Saeed

Original Name : Mehdi Bajestani

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sharifi

Original Name : Arash Ashtiani

Gender : Male

Character Name : Fatima

Original Name : Forouzan Jamshidnejad

Gender : Male

Character Name : Rostami

Original Name : Sina Parvaneh

Gender : Male

Character Name : Judge

Original Name : Nima Akbarpour

Gender : Male

Character Name : Zinab

Original Name : Sara Fazilat

Gender : Female

Character Name : Somayeh

Original Name : Alice Rahimi

Gender : Female

Character Name : Lawyer

Original Name : Ali Nazarian

Gender : Male

Character Name : Saeed's Mother

Original Name : Sima Seyed

Gender : Male

Character Name : Hagi

Original Name : Firouz Ageli

Gender : Male

Character Name : Prosecutor

Original Name : Farhad Faghih Habibi

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ali

Original Name : Mesbah Taleb

Gender : Male

Character Name : Soghra

Original Name : Ariane Naziri

Gender : Male

Character Name : Photographer

Original Name : Majd Eid

Gender : Male

Character Name : Gholam

Original Name : Sohaib Qishta

Gender : Male

Character Name : Khadijeh

Original Name : Maryam Taleb

Gender : Male

Character Name : Zahra

Original Name : Salma Alabed

Gender : Male

Character Name : Somayeh's Daughter

Original Name : Diana Al Hussen

Gender : Male

Character Name : Zari Khanum

Original Name : Soraya Helly

Gender : Male

Character Name : Taxi Driver

Original Name : Hazem Elian

Gender : Male

Character Name : Old Prostitute

Original Name : Marie Jo Khojandi

Gender : Male

Character Name : Old Man at Bakery #1

Original Name : Haidar Qaraeen

Gender : Male

Character Name : Old Man at Bakery #2

Original Name : Jawdat Saleh

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sandwich Shop Owner

Original Name : Jeries Al Nahas

Gender : Male

Character Name : Man on Motorcycle

Original Name : Laze Manaskov

Gender : Male

Character Name : Police Officer #1

Original Name : Serwan Kareem

Gender : Male

Character Name : Police Officer #2

Original Name : Mohammad Khasawneh

Gender : Male

Character Name : Forensic Expert

Original Name : Hussam Al Mohisen

Gender : Male

Character Name : Farmer

Original Name : Foad Hameed

Gender : Male

Character Name : Older Lady

Original Name : Dilarom Khushvakhtovna

Gender : Male

Character Name : Boy in Shanty Town

Original Name : Omar Alashoush

Gender : Male

Character Name : Agha Rasul

Original Name : Hamid Reza Javdan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Kiosk Owner

Original Name : Anwar Kethia

Gender : Male

Character Name : Agha Jan

Original Name : Vali Jokar

Gender : Male

Character Name : Officer #1

Original Name : Zaha'a Nessan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Officer #2

Original Name : Amir Habeeb

Gender : Male

Character Name : Grocery Shop Owner

Original Name : Mohammad Aljbore

Gender : Male

Character Name : Customer

Original Name : Lyandro Gethya 'Lulu'

Gender : Male

Character Name : Thin Man

Original Name : Mohammad Rateb

Gender : Male

Character Name : Somayeh's Father

Original Name : Ahmad Rehyaneh

Gender : Male

Character Name : Somayeh's Mother

Original Name : Rokhshana Breshna Bahar

Gender : Male

Character Name : Soldier

Original Name : Baboka Zaki

Gender : Male

Character Name : Executioner

Original Name : Wael Baghdadi

Gender : Male

Reviews

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2023-01-23

Over a relatively short period of time, over a dozen dead women are found bundled by the roadside - and the police are baffled? The women have not been sexually assaulted, but strangled using a knot tied in their headscarves. Not convinced that everything is being done by the authorities, investigative journalist "Rahimi" (Zar Amir-Ebrahimi) decides to get to the truth. Meantime, we follow the life of taxi driver "Saeed" (Mehdi Bajestani) and his daily life helps us to realise that the deceased were prostitutes. Not that he uses them, but pretty soon we realise that the stories are connected. At this point the plot rather falls away - we get to the bottom of the murder-mystery a little too simplistically for my liking; but actually as that plot develops we realise that the whodunit element of the narrative is not the most important one. It rapidly becomes an evaluation of a judicial process - and of vocal popular opinion - that may just indicate that these killings are in someway justifiable. These women, were - after all, sinful and irredeemable. Can the killer capitalise on this zealousness and escape justice? It's quite an intriguing film that looks at how religious faith can butt - head to head - with civic justice; of how the ordinarily law-abiding public themselves can; of how a person can genuinely believe he is doing good by removing "stains" from his community... I cannot believe anyone from the West would watch this with anything other than a feeling of abhorrence at the offences, but this film does attempt to put both sides in a thought-provoking fashion. Though it didn't change my opinion, it did offer a balance that makes the last twenty minutes or so a lot less fait accompli than we might expect. Bajestani is good here and this is more than just a good vs. evil crime drama. Well worth a watch. Telly will be fine, though.

Louisa Moore - Screen Zealots

@screenzealots

2023-04-23

**By: Louisa Moore / www.ScreenZealots.com** “Holy Spider” is a disturbing crime thriller that’s based on the true story of the “Spider Killer” Saeed Hanaei, a man who murdered 16 female sex workers in Iran in the early 2000s. It’s a chilling tale of the intersection of religion, culture, social status, and sexism, and despite director Ali Abbasi sometimes crossing the line into more sordid territory, it’s a genuinely alarming film with a distressing universal message about the value of women. Female journalist Rahimi (Zar Amir-Ebrahimi) travels to the Iranian holy city of Mashhad to investigate a serial killer who is targeting local prostitutes. With skill and determination, every day brings her one step closer to exposing the perpetrator. When it’s discovered that the murderer is a charismatic family man named Saeed (Mehdi Bajestani), it seems like a cut-and-dried, slam dunk of a case, especially when he admits to his crimes. But when the killer brags that he is holy man who is on a divine mission from God to clean up the streets by ridding the city of corrupt, “dirty women,” he’s embraced by many as a hero. Shockingly, Saeed isn’t seen as guilty, making justice even harder to come by. Amir-Ebrahimi’s lead performance is wholly engrossing, and she portrays Rahimi with a forceful grace and intellect. She’s terrific as a journalist who is seeking justice yet trapped in an intense game of cat-and-mouse with a deranged serial killer who uses religion as an excuse to carry out over a dozen horrifying murders of women. Amir-Ebrahimi displays a composure that masks an underlying rage, and her strong performance carries the film. While the story is based on real events, co-writers Abbasi and Afshin Kamran Bahrami have crafted a work of fiction for the sake of entertainment. This is imagined storytelling and not the actual truth, even though parts of this story really happened. It’s alarming and unsettling, especially when the film recreates the murders in shocking fashion, and even more so when Rahimi is faced with the stark realities of deeply-rooted traditions of misogyny that are rampant in Iranian society (and quite frankly, around the globe). “Holy Spider” is an aggressive, unflinching film that will anger and enrage. By telling the story from a female’s point of view, it feels all the more disturbing and timely.