The events surrounding the murders that took place in the city of Mashhad have lingered in the global culture as some of the most shocking crimes in recent memory, with the holy Iranian city being terrorized by a serial killer, known only as The Spider Killer (the term used by the media to refer to Saeed Hanaei prior to his capture and execution), who targeted sex workers, usually those whose bodies and minds had become weakened by drug addiction, luring him into his home in the same way that a spider would attract their prey into their lair, brutally murdering them in what he cited as being “a jihad on depravity”, firm in his belief that he was doing the county (and the world) a service in ridding the streets of these women of supposed diminished virtue, taking the lives of over a dozen innocent victims between 2000 and 2001. The story has been dramatized in the form of Holy Spider, in which director Ali Abbasi tells a partially fictionalized account of these events (of which he has first-hand experience, having been a student at the time), looking at dual perspectives – one is the killer himself as he goes about his daily routine as a hard-working mason and dedicated husband and father, and the young journalist that travels from Tehran, firm in her commitment to unearthing the secrets that have started to encroach on the life in this otherwise peaceful, religious corner of the country. Abbasi, who has only directed a small handful of films and is therefore still developing his style as a filmmaker, is someone who is growing in stature within the industry, returning to his native Iran to tell a story based on one of the most shocking instances of serial murder in the country’s history, which is as terrifying and unsettling as some of the more notable entries into this genre, which is often quite difficult to watch, this film not being any exception. Provocative but deeply meaningful, Holy Spider investigates some extraordinarily dark subject matter, while also presenting us with a range of other discussions that are more socially resonant, creating a memorable and disturbing portrait of the impact of religious extremism, a destructive force that seemingly only continues to worsen as time progresses.

At a cursory glance, Holy Spider isn’t immediately striking – it appears to be yet another well-made criminal procedural that contributes to the steadily-growing canon of true crime dramas, which in itself is only popular because there is something about the sordid details of major crimes that captivate the general population. Abbasi, in choosing to tell this story, seems to be aware of this trend, and over the course of two hours, he takes us on a journey into the heart of a city that is being actively terrorized by a sinister murderer, which is not in itself a revolutionary approach to this kind of story, but still enough to satisfy the surface-level requirements of the film. However, it’s interesting to note how the anticipated climactic moment (the capture of the Spider Killer) comes far sooner than we expected, right at the end of the second act, rather than during the conclusion of the film. This then leads to the third act, which is focused on exploring the aftermath of his capture, both in terms of the actual trial that saw him sentenced to death for sixteen counts of murder (as well as a range of other charges – Hanaei was a truly despicable individual), and the public’s reaction, which may be surprising for some viewers, since there was a vocal faction of the population that not only saw Hanaei as innocent, but also suggested that his efforts to rid the streets of these supposedly depraved, drug-addicted women was somehow a blessing to the community, a mission facilitated by his faith rather than his deep and disturbing psychopathy, which any logical person who assumes would become a factor in the story. The film follows a very familiar structure at the start, which may give off the illusion that it is as conventional as a procedural drama can get – but Abbasi is a director with a very creative flair, and this film doesn’t allow it to go to waste, the story gradually dismantling to form a fascinating portrait of two people, one a cold-blooded killer and the other a journalist that is tracing his murders to solve the mystery – and eventually unravels to become one of the most unpredictable and terrifying depictions of modern society we’ve seen in quite some time.

Holy Spider may be focused on exploring the crimes of Hanaei, but it takes some unexpected turns that allow it to eventually deviate from the sordid details of his murders, and become something much deeper and even more disturbing. The aspects that propel this film and make it so unsettling are not restricted to the murders themselves – we only witness a couple of them in scenes that are disturbing but very brief. The true terror that lurks beneath the surface of the film comes when it starts to look at broader issues, particularly those around the role of women in this society. Filtering the story through the lens of a female journalist from outside this city was an intriguing decision, since it immediately allows for a very broad series of conversations on gender, and in both the major plot developments and the smallest and most intricate details, we follow this character as she experiences the challenges that come with being a woman in a culture that views them as inherently inferior and subservient – whether it is having her life put in danger to catch this murderer, or not actually receiving the appropriate credit for doing so, the character of Arezoo Rahimi is a fascinating construction, serving as a fictional amalgamation of many journalists and activists that put their life on the line to advocate for equality and freedom within their country, but find themselves frequently disadvantaged, and outright punished if they dare to speak out about it. The most disturbing aspects of the film are eventually shown to not be exclusively the details of the murders, or the reasons or methods that Hanaei undertook in order to realize his ambitions, but also the impact it had, where the crowds of supporters, and his own family who tearfully advocate for their father and husband’s innocence, which show the true dangers that lurk beneath a society – just because one psychopath is punished doesn’t mean that more don’t exist, and there is always the danger that this mass hysteria and support for these misogynistic views will only beget for violence and hatred, sowing the kind of division that continues to produce a staggering number of innocent victims, who are often tortured or killed in the name of religious honour, and the culprits defended (if not outright celebrated) for their actions, whether legally or, perhaps more dangerously, in the social sphere, where many are hailed as heroes for their actions.

While he may have only made a few films so far, Abbasi has already established himself as a very impressive director when it comes to his actors – he chooses performers who would not only deliver the material as written on the page, but infuse it with emotion, complexity and nuances that can only come from a gifted actor who understands both the material and the unspoken details that lurk beneath it. In this regard, Holy Spider contains two very impressive performances on behalf of Mehdi Bajestani and Zar Amir Ebrahimi, who turn in spectacularly complex work. Ebrahimi has the difficult task of playing a role that was set to fail from the start – despite being a dedicated journalist and someone willing to come very close to sacrificing her life for the truth, she is perpetually at a disadvantaged, where she is judged first by her gender before anyone even considers her other merits, which makes her assignment not only challenging, but perilous. Ebrahimi is exceptional, and her performance carries an even deeper weight when we realize that it comes from a place of hardened experience, she herself being a victim of the cruel patriarchal laws that govern the country, allowing her work to carry an essence of truthfulness that would have been otherwise difficult to find in a less-dedicated performance. However, it is Bajestani that lingers with us the most – it has been several years since such a terrifying, unhinged performance was committed to film, and he immediately constructs the character based on Hanaei as someone who is both terrifying and pathetic, often at the same time. It’s difficult to play a part like this without veering towards an attempt to humanize the character, especially when he is the central figure whose own psychological journey we witness (rather than an elusive, shadowy figure being chased by other characters), and Bajestani does remarkably well in portraying him in such a way that we never feel even an iota for sympathy for him, despite the film spending quite a bit of time showing that he was an ordinary man – in fact, this approach to showing his domestic life is actually the most significant method used to unsettle the viewer, since it implies that people like this are not hidden away out of sight, but walk among us. Bajestani leans into these aspects of the character, and delivers one of the most astonishing performances of the year, a task that could not have been particularly easy, especially not with this subject matter that likely pushed him further than many of his previous films would have ever intended.

Holy Spider is a truly sinister film – this is not the kind of true crime story that ends with a satisfying, comforting resolution that implies that the evil has been defeated (as much as we enjoy the sordid details, we don’t want to walk away from these stories too traumatised, so many filmmakers often utilize a method of allowing for a neater resolution), but rather that it continues to exist and grow stronger as long as these brutal, bigoted views are not only allowed, but actively encouraged, within these conservative communities and the culture that they claim facilitates such harmful actions. This film is a brutal indictment on religious extremism, especially in how it portrays the lengths to which some will go to defend psychopathic behaviour as simply being dedicated to some cause, supported by religious fundamentalism that is otherwise missing from society as a whole, and which only they can correct. It’s harmful and terrifying, and serves as the foundation for many of this film’s more provocative moments. More than anything else, Holy Spider is a well-crafted crime story based purely on the fact that it takes a conventional structure and reconfigures it to be something much deeper and more profound, using the Spider Killings as only the centrepiece of the story, rather than the sole theme that is being explored. There are numerous discussions that come about throughout the film – the treatment of women in the Middle East, the rise in religious fundamentalism, the psychological reasons behind violent actions, and how the legal system can sometimes find ways to finagle innocent verdicts amongst those who are very clearly guilty. It is a deeply disturbing and often quite horrifying film that is not for the faint of heart – but for those who are willing to take a few risks and can handle some truly disturbing subject matter, Holy Spider is a worthwhile endeavour, an unsettling but compelling character study that dares to provoke and terrify, all for the sake of a very important and sadly far too tragic social message that seems to only be getting worse as time progresses.