Holy Spider: thriller about a serial killer in Iran has been acquired by Mubi and Utopia

Director Ali Abbasi‘s serial killer thriller Holy Spider, which disturbed viewers at the Cannes film festival with its “graphic depictions of sex and violence”, has landed a North American distribution deal with Utopia, while arthouse streamer and distributor Mubi will be releasing the film in the U.K., Ireland, Latin America, and Malaysia. Holy Spider is based on a real Iranian crime case, but Abbasi, who wrote the screenplay with Afshin Kamran Bahrami, has assured Variety that the film doesn’t tell “the real story”. He said,

This is an interpretation. It would be morally wrong to tell that story. I’m not even interested by it. On a good day this is a work of art. On another, it is a work of entertainment.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Holy Spider follows

Rahimi, a reporter from Tehran who travels to the Iranian holy city of Mashhad, descending into its dark underbelly to track down a serial killer who believes he is doing the work of God, cleansing the streets of sinners by murdering sex workers. As the body count mounts and Rahimi draws closer to exposing his crimes, the opportunity for justice grows harder to attain as the so-called Spider Killer is actually embraced by many as a hero.

The film stars Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Mehdi Bajestani, Arash Ashtiani, Forouzan Jamshidnejad, Alice Rahimi, Sara Fazilat, and Sina Parvaneh. Sol Bondy and Jacob Jarek produced, with Ditte Milsted and Christoph Lange executive producing. Eva Akergren, Calle Marthin, Peter Possne, Fred Burle, Vincent Maraval, Pascal Caucheteux, Gregoire Sorlat, Olivier Père, and Rémi Burah co-produced.

Abbasi explained why he was inspired to make Holy Spider:

I am not a big fan of serial killers or serial killer movies. I was living in Iran at the time. I was following the news like everyone else. [These events] became interesting for me when a certain segment of Iranian society started to describe [the killer] as a selfless hero [doing things] for society. That’s when it became more than a sick guy killing women.”

Holy Spider is a collaboration between Profile Pictures, One Two Films, Nordisk Film Production, Wild Bunch International, Film i Väst, Why Not Productions, ZDF/ARTE, and ARTE France Cinéma.

It’s not yet known when Utopia or Mubi will be releasing Holy Spider, but we’ll be watching for further distribution news. In the meantime, share your thoughts on this project by leaving a comment below.