Holy Spider

AroView: An astonishing new film from Ali Abbasi, who makes good on the promise of his head-turning Danish troll drama “Border” (2018). This one takes him back to his native Iran for a gripping crime thriller based on a story of an ordinary family man who murdered a series of sex workers in the name of Allah.

It comes with a content warning – there is some graphic violence and sex – but it is ultimately in service of a nuanced screenplay and is morally anchored by a female journalist who serves to expose the twisted morality and ‘justice’ of a state system enshrined in religion.

“It’s profoundly compelling, expertly made, and quite intentionally horrifying.” ~Tim Robey, The Telegraph

“Abbasi has made an Iranian noir which isn’t an assault on the Iranian government per se, but a crime thriller which shows how far fundamentalist morality can be twisted and how banal the face of evil really is.” ~Fionnuala Halligan, Screen Daily