In Cannes’ ‘Holy Spider,’ a Serial Killer Murders Prostitutes in Iran — and the Country Supports Him
One serial killer roams the streets at night, looking for desperate prostitutes, many of whom are hooked into cracks, and strangles them to death in his home. A young female journalist, who is (naturally) enthusiastic and emotionally invested in the case, sets out to track down the killer, the so-called Spider Killer: their destinies seem to be on the same track. collision.
That’s not the summary of a moderately successful 90s horror movie starring its actors Ashley Juddto be released later Se7enbut instead, the plot of Holy Spiderby Iranian-Danish Director Ali Abbasi (Border). Whether the film can be considered a moderate success in that ambition is entirely dependent on the third act, which rescues the film by expanding its scope somewhat, and completely. entirely not due to the rather disgusting violence and suspense of its murder mystery.
The movie starts off promisingly with a stylish pre-credits scene that follows a sex worker as she leaves her kids at home in their small apartment and wanders the streets in search of drugs and clients. . This woman bears all the hallmarks of being the main character of the film, and is sensibly shot, with a detailed description of her working life in all its ups and downs. . Thus, it becomes a shocking shock when she is brutally murdered by a customer, strangled in the stairs, and the film shifts the focus to the murderer. Almost all the elements that make up Holy Spider in this opening there is such a terrifying clock: there is a beautiful, vivid portrait of a bustling Iran, anchored in a socio-realist tradition; the camera captures the characters close-up, creating a great dynamic for the film; and finally, there’s a horrific incident of violence, shot in a way that cheers for this misguided atrocity, played to shock. The woman was killed a lot, with the sound mixing being too loud, and with the camera being able to pick out the details of her death — especially her bulging eyes and flushed skin. It is this focus on the detailed elements of the murder that brings the film into the eye of hysteria.
From here, Abbasi alternates between scenes depicting the killer, Saeed (Medhi Bajestani), both in his family and as he goes around killing women, and the daring young journalist, Rahimi (Zar Amir). -Ebrahimi), as she tries to solve the mystery of the killer’s identity. Many scenes depicting Rahimi are well constructed and acted, presenting a modern woman, determined to confront a society that hates women: the police she has to deal with, or the hotel staff when she When she comes to town, there are many roadblocks or even villains in her career and personal life. Meanwhile, Saeed was busy killing more women. We see two more murders in the vein of the first, though the third woman killed by the Spider-Assassin causes a bit of a fight, and Abbasi plays with a twisted humor to the idea that , since she’s an older woman, it’ll be harder for her to kill Saeed (though in the end, she’s sent off like the others). These scenes establish an element of suspense that contrasts with the film’s project to tie up the investigation into a violent, unfair society – namely, as we gradually see that Rahimi will no longer choose. no choice but to bait Saeed by posing as a sex worker himself. Will she make it alive?
If you can see a nail-biting thriller made out of the desperation of these characters, and the brutal violence in which they die, then you have a stronger manipulative stomach than I do. It is unconscionable that Holy Spider gleefully displays the horror with which it seeks to disparage. There is also a misconception, in the way that we are led to hope that the beautiful, college-educated, beautiful Rahimi will come out of her predicament alive, unlike the other girls. drug addicted prostitute lying on her back, sick did not do. have enough strength to defend themselves.
“If you can see a nail-biting thriller made out of the desperation of these characters, and the brutal violence in which they die, then you have a stronger manipulative stomach than I do.”
Fortunately, the third act restores balance to the story by showing – with terrible irony – how Spider-Man’s love affair has overrun the city of Mashhad, and not against him in favor of him. Saeed, in a gruesome twist, discovers his murders meet the concurrence of many: the judge; his wife and son; a local fruit vendor — all of whom support his vile goal of ridding the world of “depraved” women. This is a unique development that at least suggests a new dimension to the film. It could never fully offset the horror’s violence, but it stripped it. In this segment, there’s particular bitterness in the way Abbasi, using a mix of home video and some closely watched prison scenes, portrays Saeed’s young son’s terrifying radicalization as a violent misogynist can continue his father’s “work”.
Abbasi clearly has a special eye as a filmmaker, because Holy Spider is an overwhelming film in many ways, combining social satire, kitchen realism and tight action sequences; The film’s score is appreciated for some of the subtle compositions that make for a terribly immersive experience. But Holy SpiderThe morbid views, depicting a disturbingly under-constructed gender politics, and horribly unsettling element of shock, greatly diminish any formal qualities the film might have had.
