I knew this new film from Ali Abassi would be something special but I didn't know what kind of special it would be. After seeing his entirely insane last film, BORDER, which was equal parts mystifying, disturbing, creative, and confusingly endearing, I would have watched a follow-up about just about anything. And, what a hard shift this is from the fantasy realm of Border to such a dead serious, bleak, violent, and incredibly apt film about some of the darkest facets of Iranian culture. Border is incredible but this outdoes it.
What really sets Holy Spider apart from other serial killer thrillers is that, though the man committing the murders is despicable, he is not portrayed as the primary villain - there is a greater villain in this film and that's the culture itself, conditioning everyone to inhumane states, widely swayed by religion. Who's truly to blame? The killer? The government? The media? Religion? Holy Spider does an incredible job of making the viewer ponder all of this, and the raw reality of it hits like a sledgehammer. It is very bold to see someone making a film that criticizes an entire country's culture in such a blunt manner, but Abassi is Iran-born so it feels very much from the heart and soul, from pain and fear, made with passion.
This will not be a FUN viewing for almost anyone, by any means, but that is far from the point. The murders are extremely realistic and filled my eyes with tears several times. The performances are flawless. The directing and pacing are immaculate. The creepy atmosphere stays locked in - the dread is real. The tension and intrigue builds slowly but surely. The film only gets better as it goes.
Honestly, if I've seen any movie that deserves awards this year, its this one. Mehdi Bajestani pulls off an immensely challenging and complex character, and he doesn't even have a profile picture on IMDb. He is entirely terrifying. Zar Amir-Ebrahimi is also a wonderful protagonist with an immense amount of depth - likable but always on edge, you are living the tension through and with her.
What else can I say? This movie is insanely heavy but it's a damn masterpiece. Ali Abassi is a filmmaking force. I will be watching everything he does from here on out.
What really sets Holy Spider apart from other serial killer thrillers is that, though the man committing the murders is despicable, he is not portrayed as the primary villain - there is a greater villain in this film and that's the culture itself, conditioning everyone to inhumane states, widely swayed by religion. Who's truly to blame? The killer? The government? The media? Religion? Holy Spider does an incredible job of making the viewer ponder all of this, and the raw reality of it hits like a sledgehammer. It is very bold to see someone making a film that criticizes an entire country's culture in such a blunt manner, but Abassi is Iran-born so it feels very much from the heart and soul, from pain and fear, made with passion.
This will not be a FUN viewing for almost anyone, by any means, but that is far from the point. The murders are extremely realistic and filled my eyes with tears several times. The performances are flawless. The directing and pacing are immaculate. The creepy atmosphere stays locked in - the dread is real. The tension and intrigue builds slowly but surely. The film only gets better as it goes.
Honestly, if I've seen any movie that deserves awards this year, its this one. Mehdi Bajestani pulls off an immensely challenging and complex character, and he doesn't even have a profile picture on IMDb. He is entirely terrifying. Zar Amir-Ebrahimi is also a wonderful protagonist with an immense amount of depth - likable but always on edge, you are living the tension through and with her.
What else can I say? This movie is insanely heavy but it's a damn masterpiece. Ali Abassi is a filmmaking force. I will be watching everything he does from here on out.