Abassi's thriller has a gripping start that is solidified, just enough, by a decent performance from Zar Amir Ebrahimi, but its narrative loses its trace of intrigue and, unfortunately, becomes somewhat conventional. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 6/10 | Apr 21, 2025

Aided by its two lead performances, Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider is a brutal, chilling thriller that is full of righteous anger at Iran’s system of misogyny.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 25, 2024

The most disturbing part of Ali Abassi’s Holy Spider is not the grisly subject matter, nor the blunt and unpleasant depictions of several murders, but the mere fact that it is all based on a true story.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Mar 20, 2024

Holy Spider is more valuable for what it says than how it says it and will undoubtedly be one of those films that will divide audiences. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 5/10 | Dec 19, 2023

Holy Spider never feels like a safe genre choice, however. Quite the opposite. It crackles and glistens with anger.

| Sep 19, 2023

Holy Spider is an unsettling, impactful analysis on how misogyny and gender-based violence outlast the actions of one man due to environments and attitudes that allow it to persevere.

| Jul 25, 2023

Abbasi’s foray into true crime doubles down on its questioning of morality, as if the previous two hours of on-the-nose nudges can't be trusted to illuminate the point Holy Spider so desperately wants to make. Perhaps this should be taken as a sign.

| Apr 25, 2023

A disturbing, outrageous, repulsive and depressing film. And in the end, without a doubt, great. [Full review in Spanish]

| Apr 24, 2023

The characters feel authentic but aren't explored in depth. But the steady directing that keeps up the momentum will also keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 20, 2023

That unspoken transmission of hate [between father and son] is undoubtedly the most disturbing aspect of this film. [Full review in Spanish]

| Apr 4, 2023

This is less about the puzzle of who the murderer is... than about the way he slots into society and, after his arrest, is viewed by the public.

| Mar 17, 2023

... The film is a little crude but its punchy storytelling exerts a grip.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 2, 2023

(...) the plot generates intrigues that, after a short time, are revealed as mere fireworks, if not gross manipulation of the footage (and which generates problematically contradictory comments about the corruption of the Iranian judicial system).

| Original Score: 5/10 | Feb 27, 2023

Unfortunately, Abbasi's thematic ambitions are constantly sabotaged by the screenplay´s frequent missteps. [Full review in Portuguese]

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 8, 2023

Even though Holy Spider is based on true events, so you may already know what happened, this is so suspenseful that it set my heart pounding throughout.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 8, 2023

Abbasi strives to make his film as realistic as possible; his camera is handheld, shaky, and he directs his actors to interact credibly, most notably in the scenes where the assassin intervenes with his victims. [Full review in Spanish]

| Feb 7, 2023

Abbasi's film is no easy watch, but it is a powerful entry in this subgenre that succeeds by making risky choices lesser works might have mismanaged.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Feb 3, 2023

Holy Spider is a harsh film because of the problems it deals with but also because of the meticulous description of the social context in which these femicides take place. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 9/10 | Jan 31, 2023

This is not a whodunit, but something more methodical and melancholier. Without the suspense of the who, or any doubt as to the why, “Holy Spider” feels incredibly taut and intelligent about the how.

| Jan 30, 2023

This gives Holy Spider a far deeper insight into what could have been an easy open-and-shut case and shows the bigger problems facing women in Iran.

| Jan 27, 2023