Ali Abbasi („Granica”) sięga po opartą na faktach historię seryjnego zabójcy pracownic seksualnych z irańskiego miasta Meszhed. Mężczyzna twierdził, że chciał tylko „oczyścić” ulice ze zła. Z pomocą grającej dziennikarkę śledczą Zar Amir-Ebrahimi (nagroda dla aktorki w Cannes) reżyser ukazuje rzeczywistość, w której brutalnym szaleńcom tylko się przyklaskuje, a walczące o życie kobiety uważa za bezwartościowe. Porażający thriller o świecie, który wydaje się aż nadto znajomy.

Ali Abbasi shocked audiences with his freewheeling attitude to the sex life of trolls in Border. He now moves on to a serious subject in this film based on a true story about a serial killer who targeted sex workers in Iran in the early 2000s. The killer claimed that he only wanted to "cleanse" the streets of evil, and a lot of people felt he was right. With the help of Zar Amir-Ebrahimi, the first Iranian woman to win the best actress award in the Cannes main competition, Abbasi shows a world where violent lunatics get applause while women fighting for their survival are considered worthless. This world, akin to a thriller, sounds familiar. However, instead of solving puzzles, the director focuses on a society that has already made up its mind. Apparently, violence is excusable if a respected man commits it, one who claims he’s trying to protect children from corruption. However, in Holy Spider – a film that Abbasi ultimately made in Jordan – women who are killed with impunity are people, not the anonymous victims disowned even by their own families.