Written and directed by Ali Abbasi (Border, Shelley and The Last of Us), Holy Spider is a 2022 crime thriller shot in Jordan. Abbasi’s previous movie, Border was Oscar-nominated and the director is starting to build a reputation as one to watch. Holy Spider itself was also nominated as the Danish entry at the 95th Oscar ceremony in the Best International Feature Film category. The film stars Alice Rahimi (The Salt of Tears, Balthazar and Narvalo), Soraya Helli (Axing, Sometimes Virtual and Khodahafez Refigh), Mehdi Bajestani (Tatami, Sweet Taste of Imagination and There Are Things You Don’t Know), Zar Amir Ebrahimi (Tatami, Shayda and White Paradise) and first-time actor Diana Al Hussen. " />

Written and directed by Ali Abbasi (Border, Shelley and The Last of Us), Holy Spider is a 2022 crime thriller shot in Jordan. Abbasi’s previous movie, Border was Oscar-nominated and the director is starting to build a reputation as one to watch. Holy Spider itself was also nominated as the Danish entry at the 95th Oscar ceremony in the Best International Feature Film category. The film stars Alice Rahimi (The Salt of Tears, Balthazar and Narvalo), Soraya Helli (Axing, Sometimes Virtual and Khodahafez Refigh), Mehdi Bajestani (Tatami, Sweet Taste of Imagination and There Are Things You Don’t Know), Zar Amir Ebrahimi (Tatami, Shayda and White Paradise) and first-time actor Diana Al Hussen.

Based on the true story of Saeed Hanaei, “the spider killer” who murdered 16 women between 2000 and 2001, the movie is set in the Iranian city of Mashhad (filming locations in Jordan double for the Iranian holy city). Tehran-based journalist, Arezoo Rahimi (Ebrahimi) is sent to investigate a serial killer who is systematically murdering prostitutes he picks up on his motorbike. The women are taken to an apartment and strangled with their own headscarves, before their corpses are dumped in locations around the city. Saeed Hanaei (Mehdi Bajestani), was remorseless about his crimes, claiming that he was doing God’s work.

The film itself is a well-crafted and powerful drama that deals with a handful of different issues including, the amount of support and hero worship that Saeed received from others for his actions. The fact he was murdering sex workers was deemed by many in Iran to be a public service. These poor women were simply doing what they could to make a living to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads, but it wasn’t seen that way by some within Iranian society, however, it’s also about an uncompromising female journalist, who puts her own life at risk in order to track down a killer. The cast are excellent, with Zar Amir Ebrahimi as journalist Azeroo Rahimi, and Mehdi Bajestani as the psychopathic Saeed Hanaei leading the way with outstanding performances. The cinematography by DOP, Nadim Carlsen (Border, Holiday and Do Not Hesitate) is terrific and the writing by Abbasi and Afshin Kamran Bahrami is also of a very high standard.

This new Blu-ray disc from Utopia /MVD Visual comes with a bunch of cool interviews with the cast and crew as well as a couple of Q&A sessions with director Abbasi. Whilst a short documentary about the true case of the spider killer would have probably made for an interesting addition to the bonus materials it, it doesn’t materialise, and we are left wanting a little bit more information on the case on which the movie is based. That said, it’s still a pretty decent release for a very good movie. Overall, this is a very gritty and at times brutal movie, one that explores a very challenging true story.