Black Belly of the Tarantula

After an opening sequence featuring a beautiful woman enjoying a lovely massage, BLACK BELLY OF THE TARANTULA finds the woman and her husband fighting over her having an affair and subsequent blackmail. This leads to a rubber-gloved, mask-wearing murderer using a unique method to dispatch the unwary, unfaithful wife.

Inspector Tellini (Giancarlo Giannini) suspects the husband, that is, until more, identical murders follow. As Tellini delves deeper into the case, he finds himself the target of the maniac he's trying to catch.

Stylish and suspenseful, this is a classic giallo from the genre's high point. Giannini's character is more human than the typical cop role. He plays a man ready to chuck his whole career, just as the vicious killer gets going, making Tellini more believable.

Co-stars Barbara Bach as the unfortunate Jenny...

La tarantula dal ventre nero is a nice Giallo dealing with a a series of victims being paralyzed by injecting a poison and then their corpses ripped open while they still alive. Inspector Tellini, Giancarlo Giannini, investigates the murder of a nymphoniac : Barbara Bouchet, then other astonishing series crimes are carried out much in the same as tarantulas are killed by the black wasp. There are various suspect people : a husband and insurance broker as prime suspect : Silvano Tranquilli, a drug dealer, a lover, a massage parlor owner, a blind person, a saleswoman and the clues lead to a sauna. With the needles dipped in deadly venom the victims are paralyzed, so they must lie awake and watch themselves die!

Decent Gialli with well-shot heinous murders , thrills, chills, red herrings, and suspense. This intrigue film contains usual Giallo ingredients : a killer with gloves, barroque style, unsettling and disturbing interiors and sadistic and ritualized murders. Here the main interest resides on finding out the murderer and to see the surprising victims being paralyzed by accupunture needles with deadly venom introduced in their necks and bellies being ripped open with a knife .This is one of several Gialli regarding an animal in the script and its title similar to other Dario Argento films as The bird with crystal plumage, 4 mosche develluto grigio, The cat of 9 tails or La coda dello Scorpione by Sergio Martino. Here stands out some notorious Italian actresses as Stefania Sandrelli, Annabella Incontrera, Rosella Falk and Bond GIrls : 3 young beauties as Barbara Bach who married Ringo Starr and played The Spy who loved me, Barbara Bouchet of Casino Royale and the recently deceased Claudine Auger of Thunderball.

Stirring and haunting musical score by prolific Ennio Morricone in the Seventies style, including voicalists exhaling mysterious sounds. As well as colorful and brilliant cinematography by Marcello Gatti. The picture was professionally directed by Paolo Cavara. He was a good filmmaker who made a few films until his early death at 56 . At his beginning he directed Mondo films as La donna nel mondo, 1962. Then he directed all kinds of genres as comedy, terror, thriller, Spaghetti Western and mystery, such as La Locandiera, Virilita, The Ravina, Plot of fear and Johnny Ears and Deaf. Rating 6/10. Acceptable and passable Giallu.

In most of the Giallo movies I have seen so far,there was always this gimmick that made the movie distinguish itself in the genre. While there is such a gimmick used here it nearly isn't as interesting as it sounded. The gimmick of course is the killer using acupuncture needles to paralyze the victims like this special wasp does to the black tarantula. And that is it. The title sounds more intriguing than it is. The movie contains enough moments to maintain a certain tension. But without red herrings it is actually pretty easy to pick out the killer. In good Giallos they often give hints and clues in making you think who the suspect is and then hit you with this amazing twist that turns everything upside down and still make sense. "Black Belly..." lacks serious suspects so basically everyone could be the killer. Very sloppy or lazy and no fun whatsoever. This movie doesn't even try to make sense of the killer's actions which usually should be the key element in unfolding the killer's identity. Apart from the beautiful women this movie isn't special. Is it a waste of time then? No,not really. But one familiar with the genre does expect more creativity. The main character also starred as Matis in the last two Bond movies which sort of gives this movie more glamour. Overall this movie just lacks the punch I expect to be in a giallo movie.

When the nymphomaniac Maria Zani (Barbara Bouchet) is murdered, her ex- husband and insurance broker Paolo Zani (Silvano Tranquilli) becomes the prime-suspect of Inspector Tellini (Giancarlo Giannini). Then the saleswoman Mirta Ricci (Annabella Incontrera) is murdered in the same modus operandi – both victims had been paralyzed by acupuncture needles with poison introduced in their necks and their bellies had been ripped open with a knife with the victims still alive, in the same way that tarantulas are killed by tarantula hawks. The police find that she was also a drug dealer,

Paolo meets Inspector Tellini to tell him that he is innocent. Further, he hires the private eyes La Catapulta that finds the last man that had met Maria, the photographer Mario (Giancarlo Prete). Paolo pursues Mario but they both die and Inspector Tellini finds an envelope addressed to Franca Valentino with Mario. Inspector Tellini discovers that he was a blackmailer and meanwhile Franca becomes the third victim of the serial killer. When the masseuse Jenny (Barbara Bach) is found dead wrapped in plastic bag, Inspector Tellini goes to the massage parlor to meet the manager Laura (Claudine Auger) and he believes that an employee may be the serial-killer.

"La Tarantola dal Ventre Nero" is a great "giallo" with the typical structure – a serial-killer that wears gloves and the identity is only discovered in the end; the victims are beautiful semi-naked women; gore deaths; a persistent detective pursues the killer; and wonderful music score.

The story is well developed, with many plot points. The very young Giancarlo Giannini works with very beautiful women, three of them future Bond girls (Claudine Auger and the Barbaras Bouchet and Bach). The great music score of Ennio Morricone completes the work of the director Paolo Cavara. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Ventre Negro da Tarântula" ("The Black Belly of the Tarantula")

My God! The opening scene alone is worth the price of admission! Barbara Bouchet being given a nude body massage while Ennio Morricone's score (hightened by Edda Del Orso's seductive vocals) explores our aural senses is nearly the best opening I've ever seen... period! Paolo Cavara's brilliant Giallo "The Black Belly Of The Tarantula" is definately special. The film contains a beautiful (Euro Babe) cast, that would please James Bond afficianados everywhere. It contains three Bond Girls in one film! The wonderful Claudine Auger ("Thunderball"), Barbara Bouchet ("Casino Royale"), and Barbara Bach ("The Spy Who Loved Me"), all lending shady perversity to the proceedings. The title refers to the sadistic means in which a killer is performing on his prey. An acupuncture needle is inflamed with a paralysing poison that the killer inserts into the neck of his victim (realistically, this would probably kill someone, but hey... this is an Italian B Movie!!) thus insuring that the victim is paralysed yet concience while the killer tears open their belly with a knife (eehhh...hella creepy!). The story primarily surrounds the investigation by Inspector Tellini (well acted by Giancarlo Giannini) of the murder of Maria Zani (Barbara Bouchet) who was being blackmailed before her death. Other murders follow, as the Inspector's trail leads to a Fashion Boutique, a Science Laboratory, and then a Health Spa, which are all linked to drug traffiking and sexual deviant politics. Like "What Are Those Strange Drops Of Blood Doing On Jennifer's Body" this film as well could be a kind of prototype Giallo film. If you are familiar with the genre, you can only laugh at the way the victim always says to the Inspector "I can't talk right now... but I think I know who the killer is. Come back later (or tomorrow), and I'll tell you. (another equally laughable sentence is: "I just want to check something out, but I'll meet you later!) This line is usually a recipe to get yourself gutted and tortured in the most painful of ways. Also, like "What Are Those..." this film again has the theme of moral avenger (quite often this theme is linked with something resembling impotence... c'mon you got to laugh at that!) that strikes out on the poor girls with viciousness. I'm still trying to sort out if this is somehow linked to the cynicism surrounding Catholicism in Italy? But the killer's use of fetishistic surgical gloves only insures that this is pure Euro-Trash at it's best.

Giancarlo Giannini's Inspector Tellini is a slightly different breed of cop. The film interestingly delves further (then most Gialli) into the relationship of him and his wife Anna (played by the beautiful Stefania Sandrelli), and the moodiness surrounding his job. He neurotically says "I just don't think I can do this anymore. I want to quit." (echoing my own displays of verbal discontent in the work world, as my girlfriend pointed out) And in the end when Inspector Tellini loses his cool, as the killer gets closer to getting to his wife!

This is a great little Giallo, which unfortunately is a tad hard to find in America. But I nevertheless highly recommend it to those who love weird and twisted little masterpieces that come from a country of machisimo mentality. And the music score is to die for!!!!