Holy Spider (2022)
78%RT Audience Score: 70%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Holy Spider is a film that will leave you with a sense of unease, not just because of the stomach-churning murders, but also because of the way it blurs the lines between reality and fiction. Director Abbasi’s attempt to create a realistic portrayal of Iranian society is commendable, but the film’s frequent missteps and manipulations of footage make it difficult to fully trust what we’re seeing. Despite this, the film’s suspenseful storytelling and talented cast make it a gripping watch that will keep your heart pounding until the very end. Just be prepared to question everything you thought you knew about the Iranian judicial system.
Holy Spider is a movie that will make you feel like you’re on a rollercoaster ride, but instead of loops and drops, you’re on a ride of tension and unease. Critics are divided on whether it’s a masterpiece or a mess, but one thing is for sure: it’s not for the faint of heart. The film is based on true events, but don’t let that fool you into thinking you know what’s going to happen. The suspense is so palpable that it will set your heart pounding throughout. Abbasi’s direction is realistic and gritty, with handheld cameras and shaky shots that make you feel like you’re right there in the action. So buckle up and get ready for a wild ride with Holy Spider.
Production Company(ies)
Ensemble, Foreign Language
Distributor
Utopia
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Jordan
MPAA / Certificate
NR
Year of Release
2022
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:1h 56m
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Language(s):Persian/Farsi/Dari
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Country of origin:Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 28, 2022 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 21, 2023
Genre(s)
Crime/Drama
Keyword(s)
Crime, Drama, Mystery & thriller, Persian language, Ali Abbasi, Sol Bondy, Jacob Jarek, Ali Abbasi, Afshin Kamran Bahrami, Utopia, Scope (2.35:1), Zar Amir-Ebrahimi, Rahimi, Mehdi Bajestani, Saeed, Arash Ashtiani, Sharifi, Forouzan Jamshidnejad, Fatima, Sina Parvaneh, Rostami, Nima Akbarpour, Le juge, reviewed by Wendy Ide, Kevin Maher, Danny Leigh, David Jenkins, Catherine Bray, Tim Cogshell, Amber Wilkinson, Edward Porter, Agustín Acevedo Kanopa, Pablo Villaça, Alexa Dalby, box office performance, budget, MPAA rating, Holy Spider, Saeed, Iranian city of Mashhad, street prostitutes, religious quest, murders, public interest, divine mission, visceral, outraged, dramatization, appalling actual events, tense, atmospheric, stomach-churning, pacy, David Fincher, Zodiac, Iranian social history, serial killer movie, moral purpose, formal flair, greater society, Iranian woman, puzzle, murderer, society, public, corruption, judicial system, thematic ambitions, screenplay, missteps, suspenseful, heart pounding, realistic, handheld, shaky, victims, audience score, critic consensus, featured audience reviews, RT25, XFL, ESPN+, streaming movies, TV shows, most popular, Cocaine Bear, Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre, Children of the Corn, Tomorrow’s Hope, Wildflower, Magic Mike’s Last Dance, We Lost Our Human, The Disappearance of Mrs Wu, Gotham: The Fall and Rise of New York, Coffee Wars, I Am Zlatan, Furies, Johnny, Stalker, Followers, Last Sentinel, 88, Chantilly Bridge, Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga, Myanmar Diaries
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $10,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $10,706,638
Production budget ranking: 1,604
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $5,765,525
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Mehdi Bajestani – Saeed
Arash Ashtiani – Sharifi
Forouzan Jamshidnejad – Fatima
Sina Parvaneh – Rostami
Nima Akbarpour – Le juge
Director – Ali Abbasi
Producers – Sol Bondy, Jacob Jarek
Writers – Ali Abbasi, Afshin Kamran Bahrami
Director(s)
Ali Abbasi
Writer(s)
Ali Abbasi, Afshin Kamran Bahrami
Producer(s)
Sol Bondy, Jacob Jarek
Film Festivals
Berlin, Cannes, Telluride, Toronto
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (133) | Top Critics (27) | Fresh (111) | Rotten (22)
It’s a tense, atmospheric piece of film-making but it made me profoundly uncomfortable – and not, I should add, in a good way.
January 22, 2023 | Rating: 2/5
Wendy Ide
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
An intensely stylish and appropriately troubling film, with stomach-churning murders and a pacy first half that’s reminiscent of David Fincher’s Zodiac.
January 20, 2023 | Rating: 4/5
Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
The film is an Iranian social history that looks, at first, like a serial killer movie… it is both.
January 19, 2023 | Rating: 4/5
Danny Leigh
Financial Times
TOP CRITIC
Trying to be objective here, but this will likely be a love/loathe prospect for many.
January 18, 2023 | Rating: 3/5
David Jenkins
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
A frustrating but fascinating film, made by an evidently talented filmmaker, which never quite manages to resolve the tensions between its apparent moral purpose and the formal flair with which it depicts events it purports to condemn.
January 17, 2023 | Rating: 2/5
Catherine Bray
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
A striking film in any case, especially with what is going on in Iran right now… It’s well constructed and allows us to see the greater society through this Iranian woman.
November 30, 2022
Tim Cogshell
FilmWeek (KPCC – NPR Los Angeles)
TOP CRITIC
This is less about the puzzle of who the murderer is… than about the way he slots into society and, after his arrest, is viewed by the public.
March 17, 2023
Amber Wilkinson
Eye for Film
… The film is a little crude but its punchy storytelling exerts a grip.
March 2, 2023 | Rating: 3/5
Edward Porter
Sunday Times (UK)
(…) the plot generates intrigues that, after a short time, are revealed as mere fireworks, if not gross manipulation of the footage (and which generates problematically contradictory comments about the corruption of the Iranian judicial system).
February 27, 2023 | Rating: 5/10
Agustín Acevedo Kanopa
La Diaria
Unfortunately, Abbasi’s thematic ambitions are constantly sabotaged by the screenplay´s frequent missteps. [Full review in Portuguese]
February 8, 2023 | Rating: 3/5
Pablo Villaça
Cinema em Cena
Even though Holy Spider is based on true events, so you may already know what happened, this is so suspenseful that it set my heart pounding throughout.
February 8, 2023 | Rating: 4/5
Alexa Dalby
Dog and Wolf
Abbasi strives to make his film as realistic as possible; his camera is handheld, shaky, and he directs his actors to interact credibly, most notably in the scenes where the assassin intervenes with his victims. [Full review in Spanish]
February 7, 2023
Nilton Arana
Cinencuentro…
Plot
Female journalist Rahimi travels to the Iranian holy city of Mashhad to investigate a serial killer who believes he is doing the work of God, cleansing the streets of sinners by murdering sex workers. As the body count mounts, and Rahimi draws closer to exposing his crimes, the opportunity for justice grows harder to attain as the ‘Spider Killer’ is embraced by many as a hero. Based on the true story of serial killer Saeed Hanaei.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
In the first scene of Rahimi and Sharifi together, style of Sharifi’s sleeves repeatedly changes in different shots.
Ali-Abbasi.jpg
