Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsCannes Film FestivalStar WarsAsian Pacific American Heritage MonthSummer Watch GuideSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

Holy Spider

  • 2022
  • 1h 58m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
30K
YOUR RATING
Holy Spider (2022)
A journalist descends into the dark underbelly of the Iranian holy city of Mashhad as she investigates the serial killings of sex workers by the so called "Spider Killer", who believes he is cleansing the streets of sinners.
Play trailer1:50
1 Video
45 Photos
Serial KillerTrue CrimeCrimeDramaThriller

A journalist descends into the dark underbelly of the Iranian holy city of Mashhad as she investigates the serial killings of sex workers by the so called "Spider Killer", who believes he is... Read allA journalist descends into the dark underbelly of the Iranian holy city of Mashhad as she investigates the serial killings of sex workers by the so called "Spider Killer", who believes he is cleansing the streets of sinners.A journalist descends into the dark underbelly of the Iranian holy city of Mashhad as she investigates the serial killings of sex workers by the so called "Spider Killer", who believes he is cleansing the streets of sinners.

  • Director
    • Ali Abbasi
  • Writers
    • Ali Abbasi
    • Afshin Kamran Bahrami
    • Jonas Wagner
  • Stars
    • Zar Amir Ebrahimi
    • Diana Al Hussen
    • Soraya Helli
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.3/10
    30K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Ali Abbasi
    • Writers
      • Ali Abbasi
      • Afshin Kamran Bahrami
      • Jonas Wagner
    • Stars
      • Zar Amir Ebrahimi
      • Diana Al Hussen
      • Soraya Helli
    • 71User reviews
    • 183Critic reviews
    • 66Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 22 wins & 35 nominations total

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:50
    Official Trailer

    Photos45

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 41
    View Poster

    Top cast46

    Edit
    Zar Amir Ebrahimi
    Zar Amir Ebrahimi
    • Arezoo Rahimi
    Diana Al Hussen
    • Somayeh's Daughter
    Soraya Helli
    • Zari Khanum
    Mehdi Bajestani
    • Saeed
    Alice Rahimi
    • Somayeh
    Hazem Elian
    • Taxi Driver
    Arash Ashtiani
    • Sharifi
    Sohaib Qista
    • Gholam
    Forouzan Jamshidnejad
    Forouzan Jamshidnejad
    • Fatima
    Maryam Taleb
    • Khadijeh
    Salma Alabed
    • Zahra
    Sina Parvaneh
    Sina Parvaneh
    • Rostami
    Ariane Naziri
    Ariane Naziri
    • Soghra
    Mesbah Taleb
    • Ali
    Marie-Jo Khojandi
    • Old Prostitute
    Nima Akbarpour
    Nima Akbarpour
    • Judge
    Haidar Qaraeen
    • Old Man at Bakery 1
    • (as Haidar Qara'een)
    Jawdat Saleh
    • Old Man at Bakery 2
    • Director
      • Ali Abbasi
    • Writers
      • Ali Abbasi
      • Afshin Kamran Bahrami
      • Jonas Wagner
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews71

    7.329.6K
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    Jonathannba1234

    Absolutely brilliant!

    The movie beautifully portrays the injustice that women face in Iran, and how corrupt the justice and jurisdiction system is. I used to live in Iran as a child and I remember the how terribly people were being treated in the name of "Allah and Islam". To me, this movie was extremely thrilling because it resurfaced some of my childhood traumas, and that tells me how relatable and well made this movie is. The actors and actresses were absolutely amazing. Making a movie outside of Iran about inside of Iran is not easy. I can't imagine how difficult it was for the actors and actresses get mentally prepared for their roles and get in character, since they all have been living outside of Iran for a long time. Most interesting movie of the year!
    8ops-52535

    a profound...

    And deeply unconfortable movie, unless youre under that jolly good feeling of being a psychopat, or your a guy simply stalking on prostitutes for a serial kill...

    its a true story about the holy spider, a male serialkiller operating his little fathwa against women selling lust from the porch or the sidewalks of the streets of mashaad , iran, a dangerous lifestyle wherever you are in the world, generally more deadly in the country of persia.

    A well knit together and heavily indulged acting from entire cast throws you into a turmoil of fanatism, corruption and depletion of the female nature and excistence, its filmatographic grips gives vibes of intensity of the emotion called angst.

    So if you wanna taste scorching feeling of real feel crime, then the grumpy old man recommends ''holy spider'', a film with a deadly sting.
    8Xstal

    Persian Persecution...

    A killer trawls the streets of Mashhad City, shows no remorse, regret or shame, there is no pity, for the women that he kills, I'm sure he gets plenty of thrills, as a self-appointed one man vigilante. A journalist begins investigations, in a culture that's built on male foundations, but she's persistent and quite brave, to stop the girls going to graves, and to suffer prejudice, of generations.

    It's a brutal depiction of events, as a disgruntled, discontented and disturbed psychopath decides to take the lives of several women who have been left with no choice but to sell themselves on the streets to survive (or not as it turns out). I thought Zar Amir-Ebrahimi was brilliant as the stubborn and relentless journalist who tenaciously puts her own life in peril to track the killer down.
    8PANDIAN120621

    Absolutely stunning...!!!

    Based on a true story of Saeed hanaei,a man who killed 16 sex workers in iran,and branded as a super hero... Though being cruel and shocking,surprisingly reaches to a tight & tense situation of what's happening in iran currently & high society conservatives influencing the monster and symbolising them as saviour of sin indulging in heroic act... Zar Amir ibrahami upholds the movie with her strong morality breaking the stereotypes of women's life in iran...she was honoured with best actress award at the Cannes too... Mehdi bajestani delivers quitely & deadly at times,his body language sends some spine chilling unsettling moments that's hard to beat out... Overall a genuine piece of cinema...
    8matyagriffioen

    It is really good!

    I watched this film yesterday on the Golden Apricot film festival and its rating of 6.6 makes little sense to me.

    It is a crafty film that takes you on a suspenseful trip with moments of well-placed humor.

    The Iranian setting is somewhat overdramatized, but I believe that works for the film, rather than against it.

    The important note here is that the true Spider Killer received very little to no support from the Iranian society.

    The overall setting is somber, it is relatively violent, there is a lot of room given for the personal development of our characters, there is social criticism, great acting, and powerful sound design.

    My only criticism is that secondary characters could have given more screen-time to act out their emotional curve, as there performances were really strong.

    I strongly recommend this to anyone that loves European film and/or true crime pieces.

    Easily an eight!

    More like this

    Leila's Brothers
    7.9
    Leila's Brothers
    Border
    7.0
    Border
    The Seed of the Sacred Fig
    7.6
    The Seed of the Sacred Fig
    A Hero
    7.5
    A Hero
    The Salesman
    7.7
    The Salesman
    Killer Spider
    5.5
    Killer Spider
    The Girl with the Needle
    7.5
    The Girl with the Needle
    Close
    7.8
    Close
    Sick of Myself
    7.1
    Sick of Myself
    Shelley
    5.3
    Shelley
    Law of Tehran
    7.8
    Law of Tehran
    The Apprentice
    7.1
    The Apprentice

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      A few days after Zar Amir Ebrahimi won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for her performance in this film, Iranian officials accused the Iranian-born actress and the movie's Danish-Iranian director, Ali Abbasi, of "blasphemy." Some have even gone further, calling for their executions. The Iranian Organization of Cinema and Audiovisual Affairs, which operates under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, released a statement calling the film "shameless obscenity," adding that it was "the product of the twisted mind of an Iranian-Danish man", and condemning the Cannes Festival for awarding the film the Best Actress award, calling it "an insulting and politically-motivated move". Ebrahimi also told CNN that she had received around 200 threats after the award ceremony at Cannes. The director of 'Holy Spider' and others involved in making this film have also received similar threats.
    • Goofs
      In the first scene of Rahimi and Sharifi together, style of Sharifi's sleeves repeatedly changes in different shots.
    • Quotes

      Saeed: I'm gonna rid the streets of whores! I ain't gonna stop!

    • Crazy credits
      The title card shows up 11 minutes into the movie.
    • Connections
      Featured in Amanda the Jedi Show: The Most Theatre Walkouts I've EVER Seen | Cannes 2022 Explained (2022)

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ17

    • How long is Holy Spider?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 13, 2023 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Germany
      • Denmark
      • France
      • Sweden
      • Jordan
      • Italy
    • Official sites
      • Metropolitan Filmexport (France)
      • ONE TWO Films (Germany)
    • Language
      • Persian
    • Also known as
      • Araña sagrada
    • Filming locations
      • Jordan(as Iran)
    • Production companies
      • Profile Pictures
      • ONE TWO Films
      • Nordisk Film Production
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $307,188
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $16,376
      • Oct 30, 2022
    • Gross worldwide
      • $1,706,583
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 58 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Holy Spider (2022)
    Top Gap
    What is the Canadian French language plot outline for Holy Spider (2022)?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb app
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb app
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb app
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.