Certificate: 18 (strong violence, sexual violence). Running Time: 118 mins. UK Distributor: Mubi
WHO’S IN IT?
Mehdi Bajestani, Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Arash Ashtiani, Forouzan Jamshidnejad, Alice Rahimi, Sina Parvaneh, Sara Fazilat, Firouz Agheli, Nima Akbarpour, Mesbah Taleb
WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?
Ali Abbasi (director, writer, producer), Afshin Kamran Bahrami (writer), Sol Bondy, Jacob Jarek (producers), Martin Dirkov (composer), Nadim Carlsen (cinematographer), Olivia Neergaard-Holm (editor)
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
A reporter (Ebrahimi) investigates a serial killer (Bajestani) who has been targeting sex workers…
WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON HOLY SPIDER?
As shocking and upsetting as the most recent news stories of brutal misogynist violence in Iran have been, they are sadly par for the course within the country’s increasingly totalitarian regime, which clearly discriminates anyone or anything that falls outside of their conservative values. Case in point: twenty years ago, a serial killer known as the “Spider Killer” stalked and preyed upon female sex workers in the Iranian city of Mashhad, under the pretence that he was on a holy mission to rid the streets of whom he saw as “corrupt and immoral” – and even after his eventual capture and execution, the locals looked to him as a hero, and declared his victims to deserve their horrific fate.
It’s a nasty and deeply disturbing turn of events that have already inspired a small amount of films, including Maziar Bahari’s documentary And Along Came a Spider – which, incidentally, you can watch for free now on YouTube by clicking right here – but director and co-writer Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider is perhaps the most prominent dramatization to date, and manages to do an effective and uncomfortably engrossing job of making you simultaneously angry at how this case was handled and received, but also more unnerved than the last number of horror films combined.
Set in 2001 (which the film handily informs the viewer of via live news footage of 9/11), this semi-fictionalised account picks up as the Spider Killer – identified as stern family man Saeed Hanaei (Mehdi Bajestani) – is well into his killing spree, which consists of him picking up prostitutes on his motorcycle, taking them back to his place, and then strangling them to death with their own headscarves before dumping the body across the city. As Saeed keeps his activities a secret from his family, determined reporter Arezoo Rahimi (Zar Amir Ebrahimi) arrives in Mashhad to investigate and possibly help capture the Spider Killer, but constantly finds her efforts blocked at almost every junction by interviewees, clerics, and even police chiefs who seem to care very little about bringing the killer to justice, because they’re all just as deeply rooted in patriarchal conservatism as Saeed, if not more so. Through her own investigative skills, Rahimi helps to track the killer down and bring him to justice – but even then, the court of law may not be as persuasive as that of public opinion, which is much more on Saeed’s side than on any other.
As you probably might have already gathered, Holy Spider is far from comfortable viewing. It portrays violence, particularly the misogynist kind, in an extreme fashion that often makes the film very hard to watch, and I know that this is something that has divided a lot of critics, but I felt that it was a necessary move to convey just how barbaric the whole ordeal must surely have been. Abbasi, whose previous feature Border also dealt with some extremely disturbing themes under a more fantastical context, makes no attempt to be subtle with his subject matter here, nor does he shy away from how brutal his death scenes can be, choosing to go with tight close-ups wherein you can practically see the life being drained out of the victims’ eyes. While I feel that the more direct and unforgiving approach is needed for the levels of discomfort and anger that Abbasi clearly wants the viewer to feel, it is understandable how it can also seem distasteful or even exploitive, especially considering that these murders really did happen, and that they are being portrayed in a way not unlike in giallo filmmaker Lucio Fulci’s cult sleaze classic The New York Ripper (which also depicts deeply-rooted misogyny in not just the killer but the wider society around them).
The brutal violence is extra stinging because of how the film shows this killer’s actions not just being enabled but celebrated by the masses. Again, Abbasi makes no concessions for how badly women are treated within this deeply patriarchal society, much of which is seen through the perspective of Zar Amir Ebrahimi’s (fictional) reporter character, who is initially denied a hotel room simply because she’s alone without a husband in tow, is effectively slut-shamed by clerics and police chiefs due to a rumoured transactional relationship in a previous job, and even her journalist partner keeps unconsciously making chauvinistic gestures when they’re out and about together. Ebrahimi’s performance is nothing short of stellar, because you can just feel her frustration at being stonewalled left and right by powerful men who see her and other woman as second-class citizens, and later on it’s impossible not to be overwhelmed in some way by how terrified she gets when put in a potentially fatal position (a feat that rightfully earned her an acting prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival).
More to the point, though, Ebrahimi represents the voice of reason in an environment that is so rooted in its own archaic beliefs and religion-infused routines, that a serial killer claiming to be doing God’s work by strangling sex workers to death is seen not as a societal monster but as a modern-day martyr. Mehdi Bajestani’s chilling turn as the Spider Killer highlights the arrogance of men, especially in this part of the Middle East, who consider themselves holy enough to justify a brutal wave of murders without facing the full consequences, because odds are that most people will be in their corner, and sure enough they prove themselves to be and more.
Knowing that this was indeed the case in real life, particularly with everything that’s been happening in Iran since the debut of this movie, is what makes Holy Spider such a deeply disturbing film to watch, since you’re just left so angry by how the most immoral acts that one can commit are practically welcomed with open arms in this part of the world. The film’s ultimate strength, though, is how it actively keeps itself thoroughly engaging to generate such an emotional response, and I certainly found myself simultaneously fascinated and shaken to my core by the utter devastation that it left me with, lack of subtlety or taste be damned.
SO, TO SUM UP…
Holy Spider is a deeply uncomfortable thriller that depicts the actions of the infamous Spider Killer with an unflinching, if slightly exploitative, approach to misogynist violence, but is compelling enough with its disturbing themes and stellar lead performances to remain consistently unnerving and powerful true-crime storytelling.
