Review of Holy Spider ( Movie )

 Holy Spider ( 2022) 



11-12-23

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugq_aTKMh4U
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18550140/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_Holy%2520Spi

I just finished watching Holy Spider, an Iran based crime drama based on the true life serial killer Saeed Hanaei (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saeed_Hanaei ). 

This was a great movie which showed the attempts by an Iranian Journalist to investigate and uncover the truth about the string of prostitutes death in a smaller city in Iran. The killer ends up with 16 victims and in the end claims to be doing Allah's work cleansing the world of the evil women.  Unlike American made movies, this focused a lot more on the journalist efforts in making connections, talking to people rather than the exploits and and showing of the crimes.  Although the movie does shows the crimes and a brief but graphic oral sex scene at the beginning, they are tame compared to American fare.  The journalist has to navigate uncaring police, clerics, sexist police and clerics, co-workers and even the public. In the end, due to her efforts the bad guy is caught and quickly hung. 
I found it compelling, where the journalist is trying to do her job but almost gets denied a hotel room because she is an unmarried single women and the hotel is worried about the morality police.  The things you would think would stand in her way...driving ( she was able to get rides and cabs) to morality police ( never see them ) never really make much of an appearance but the sexism and the lack of acceptance is clear. 
If you like foreign films with crime drama, culture and serial killers all rolled into one, this is a can't miss. 





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