Holy Spider, based on the actual story of serial killer Saeed Hanaei, who killed 16 women until his apprehension in 2001, is an uncompromising look at a culture where severe justice has become the norm. The movie, which premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and received praise for its bold and uncompromising approach, is not suitable for children but will find an audience among those who are fascinated by evil and success. Audiences can’t help but be curious to discover more about such dark, unpleasant characters, as seen by the success of Netflix’s new streaming series DAHMER – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story; Hanaei’s ruthless crime is no exception. The first teaser for the film now indicates that the narrative of a journalist who would risk everything to unearth the truth and justice will be a darkly deep and reflective examination of what it takes to unmask a lawless man in a city full of immense terrors.
The promo features Zar Amir Ebrahimi as Rahimi, a journalist who goes to Mashhad to look into a serial murderer named the “Spider Killer” (played by Mehdi Bajestani) who thinks he’s performing God’s job by “cleaning” the streets and killing sex workers. Despite Rahimi’s best efforts, she keeps encountering terrifying situations as she explores Mashhad’s seedier side. When influential individuals insist that the Spider Killer is not a villain but a hero, the corpse count rises and the possibility of capturing him decreases.
Therefore, in order to triumph and seek forgiveness for such violent, God-fearing killings, this journalist must face a lot of sinister forces. There was initially considerable backlash, which is to be expected, but Holy Spider has now received a lot of positive feedback and has been nominated for several prizes. In particular, Ebrahimi took home the Best Actress award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, while writer-director Ali Abbasi received the Best Director award at this year’s Fantastic Fest.
The film will also represent Denmark at the 95th Academy Awards as their official submission for Best International Feature. In an interview with Indiewire, the director admitted that he was “very terrified of the repercussions” of making this movie, especially given the attention that Bajestani’s representation of the iconic murder has received. Nonetheless, the film has been widely hailed as a success. Abbasi’s last picture, Border, was met with widespread critical praise, and his newest, Holy Spider, has only added to that positive reception. Holy Spider has yet to receive a release date, but given the film’s Oscar buzz, it’s likely coming out in the near future.