HOLY SPIDER - Review | Cannes Film Festival 2022

Ali Abbasi's latest film may come across as being easy to identify in what direction its plot will go. But that doesn't take away from the thrill and wickedness of watching this bleak and disturbing criminal investigation unravel. A film that's not afraid to offend or make the audience uncomfortable from its graphic imagery and subject matter. At the same time, its two outstanding lead performances along with their distinctive motivations help separate this film from other crime thrillers with a similar tone. Feels like a combination of The Silence of the Lambs, Zodiac, and Joker set in Iran that presents a fascinating clash regarding conflicting ideals of morality.

Still Courtesy - Profile Pictures

A journalist named Rahimi (portrayed by Zar Amir-Ebrahimi) travels to the city of Mashhad where she becomes part of a manhunt to catch a serial killer. He refers to himself as the "Spider Killer" named Saeed (portrayed by Mehdi Bajestani) who frequently strangles sex workers, dumps their bodies somewhere in the city, and reports the homicides to the public while leaving his identity unknown. As the police continue to lose faith when it comes to catching him from their lack of clues. The disturbance from Rahimi regarding the case pushes her to do whatever is possible to find the man who believes that he's cleansing the moral corruption of the city.

From the opening of Holy Spider, Abbasi perfectly establishes not only the grim and uninviting world that we're about to be a part of in an explicit manner. But being in the perspective of a prostitute that joins Saeed without knowing what his intentions are. That really helps with setting up what he does with his victims while maintaining suspense for what will happen. As a result, there's an instant hook for wanting to understand the psychology and motives of Saeed for committing homicides in such a specific way. That ends up being what follows the opening scene along with the introduction to Rahimi and the investigation's current status. From that point, there ends up being plenty to uncover as the film progresses.

Despite the film being based on true events from the serial killer of the same name. For those with no familiarity to the story, it ends up being best experienced by following the story the same way that the characters do. With stress and confusion as to where the manhunt will go and seeing the public response to the acts of Saeed. That ends up being the thought-provoking aspect about Holy Spider since much of the film is centered around the debate if Saeed's actions are moral or not. While the film is obviously not implying that murdering sex workers is the right choice. It does a great job at making the audience accept why certain characters would agree to each side. This is due to its clever ways of developing their motives based on what they do, who they talk to, and how they react from that.

As soon as the Spider Killer is introduced, the film avoids wasting time and throws you right into the investigation with Rahimi. Therefore, its sense of urgency keep the viewer engaged while it still manages to make the central characters feel fully fleshed out. At the same time, cutting back from Rahimi's to Saeed's perspectives prevents the film from dragging on thanks to its tight pacing and editing. But it really is Zar Amir-Ebrahimi and Mehdi Bajestani who are perfectly cast and bring so much life to the central characters. There's plenty of opportunities for them to express a wide range of emotions and its hard to imagine other actors as these characters after seeing how they portrayed them. Zar Amir-Ebrahimi ended up being a truly worthy winner for Best Actress at the 75th Cannes Film Festival.

Abbasi's previous film Border (2018) already established that he's capable of crafting a crime drama featuring graphic imagery that would definitely provide a reaction. But while that film ventured out with trolls as the protagonists. Holy Spider being able to authentically portray this true story makes it stand out as a more mature addition to his filmography. Besides the film mostly following a predictable narrative, it shines at showcasing a distinct manhunt featuring excellent performances and debatable ideologies that would get people talking. His best put together film consistently remains so chilling that you can't look away from it.

Verdict

8/10

Still Courtesy - Profile Pictures