La Tarantola dal Ventre Nero (Black Belly of the Tarantula) (1972)

59% of users liked it
(362 ratings)

This frightening horror-thriller stars Giancarlo Giannini as Inspector Tellini, chasing a killer whose victims are paralyzed with a poisoned acupuncture needle, forcing them to watch helplessly as their stomachs are ripped open with a sharp knife. This method duplicates the habits of the black wasp… More This frightening horror-thriller stars Giancarlo Giannini as Inspector Tellini, chasing a killer whose victims are paralyzed with a poisoned acupuncture needle, forcing them to watch helplessly as their stomachs are ripped open with a sharp knife. This method duplicates the habits of the black wasp in slaying tarantulas, explaining the title. Much of the film is spent on a wild goose chase involving Silvano Tranquilli, the husband of the first victim (Barbara Bouchet). All of the suspects soon turn up dead and Giannini turns his attention to an upscale health spa, frequented by each victim, which is a front for blackmail and cocaine smuggling. The mystery itself is fairly obvious, but director Paolo Cavara includes a good deal of action and Ennio Morricone's score is effectively chilling. Among the cast are such genre favorites as Annabella Incontrera, Stefania Sandrelli, Claudine Auger, Rossella Falk, and Giancarlo Priete, and --as in many Italian thrillers of the period -- voyeurism is the primary motif. Barbara Bach and Carla Mancini appear briefly. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 28 min.
Directed By: Paolo Cavara
Genres: Drama, Horror, Art House & International, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Jun 7, 1972 Wide
On DVD: Mar 28, 2006

Critic Reviews

Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
Isn't nearly as visionary as the best examples of the giallo form.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Stefanie C

Despite all the Italian films I have seen, this is my first giallo. Giannini offfers a nice introduction to the genre.
Cassandra M

Black Belly of the Tarantula is both a great thriller in its own right and surely one of the best entries in the Giallo cycle. The film is reminiscent of several like it, but this one is the most cerebral and most sadistic Giallo I've seen. The modus operandi of the killer at the… More
Black Belly of the Tarantula is both a great thriller in its own right and surely one of the best entries in the Giallo cycle. The film is reminiscent of several like it, but this one is the most cerebral and most sadistic Giallo I've seen. The modus operandi of the killer at the centre of the story involves jabbing his victim with a poison laced needle which induces paralysis. He then proceeds to gut them while they're still alive and unable to do anything about it! Director Paolo Cavara seems to realise just how malicious this plot is, and so the film is not gratuitous. The reliance on the idea behind the murders is far more shocking than any amount of gore; so it doesn't matter that there isn't a lot of the red stuff. Typically, the film works from an extremely convoluted plot which sees a woman, who is also a member of a private health club, become the victim of blackmail. Around the same time; dead bodies start piling up and our hero; an insecure police detective by the name of Tellini learns that the murders are done in the style of the black wasp killing a tarantula... As ever with Giallo, the film isn't particularly easy to follow; as there's so much going on that it's easy to miss one or two key plot elements. This is, however, far better than having too little going on and unlike many Giallo's, at least this one mostly resolves everything by the conclusion. There's a very potent stream of sleaze running throughout the film also; as if the killer's methods weren't enough on their own. The film features plenty of sex, and it will please some to learn that many of the murders are depicted with the female victim in the nude. The murder scenes themselves are well orchestrated, and director Paolo Cavara delights in showing us the gentle way that the paralysis needle slips into the victims' necks before having their stomachs ripped open with a hunting knife. The cinematography is superb, and it's safe to say that Black Belly of the Tarantula is one of the better looking Giallo films out there. The locations bode well with the film's style, and scenes that take place on a rooftop and in a luxury swimming pool provide visual treats. Overall, I don't hesitate to name Black Belly of the Tarantula as one of the best Giallo's that I've seen and it comes highly recommended!
Adam M

The everyman as a smart but ineffectual professional? ...Giannini plays a detective always two steps behind the killer as beautiful ladies disappear from the cast before any female character development is allowed to occur ... The hero's personality is likable but he's hard… More
The everyman as a smart but ineffectual professional? ...Giannini plays a detective always two steps behind the killer as beautiful ladies disappear from the cast before any female character development is allowed to occur ... The hero's personality is likable but he's hard to sympathize with as he mopes around, making mistakes. Some good shots and a lot of wasted ones. There's a treacherous rooftop chase. Much less treacherous is the tilting and panning from a lampshade in the killer's apartment, which is supposed to be a pre-murder leitmotiv -- it's the lamp shade of death.
Bruce B

Not sure how or why I put this on my Netflix Rental List, but its A Good Italian Police Drama, I know an Italian Western is called a Spagetti Western, so do you call this Spagetti Deama. Anyway I would put this one in the Grindhouse Collection as it had that type of 1970 theme. A bit… More
Not sure how or why I put this on my Netflix Rental List, but its A Good Italian Police Drama, I know an Italian Western is called a Spagetti Western, so do you call this Spagetti Deama. Anyway I would put this one in the Grindhouse Collection as it had that type of 1970 theme. A bit of nudity and they were all very pretty not a ugly one in the bunch.
Ryan M

6.0/10 "Black Belly of the Tarantula" is a competent, well-made giallo thriller that, for all its visual and stylistic flare, is just looking for the right story elements and characters to make it feel complete. I won't deny that I found some things to… More
6.0/10 "Black Belly of the Tarantula" is a competent, well-made giallo thriller that, for all its visual and stylistic flare, is just looking for the right story elements and characters to make it feel complete. I won't deny that I found some things to enjoy about it, and it does have a handful of really good scenes, but the thing just isn't as interesting as I hoped it would be. Consistently entertaining and hardly ever boring, unless you count those moments where you realize that the film just isn't anything all that special and it doesn't intend to change that; sure. However, entertaining and interesting are two fairly different things. I imagine the story could have made for something truly great, but its quality it taken down a few pegs by its restrictions and lack of relevance. The film is about a cop who investigates the brutal murders of several beautiful women; and as with most movies like this one, the first suspect is the often troubled husband of each fair lady. The cop basically spends the entire film trying to find out who this killer is, and why the person is killing in the first place, so no surprises to be had there; that is, unless, this film can do something truly different. However, in the end of it all, the film only does one thing different and/or intriguing with its story. It has one good idea going for it; the inclusion of a deadly acupuncture needle which is inserted into the victims, allowing the killer to proceed ripping open their stomachs, while they sit there watching. The film makes it clear that this is a method used by a certain type of wasp to kill tarantulas in the same way, which is interesting, if only for a little bit. That part had me thinking, and it also had me (nearly) believing that this was a good movie, when the truth was this: I was on the edge for the entire ride when it came to what I thought of it. If you're in to these "Giallo" Italian horror-thrillers, then you'll get what you came for. I was impressed by some of the gory, well-staged murder sequences, which are seldom exciting, but sometimes they aren't meant to be. We are observers of these scenes and we are intrigued by the reactions that they are intended to elicit; although this time, there's not quite as much to admire. I had respect for the film; it isn't terribly good, but at the same time, it isn't terribly bad. I'm thankful that it doesn't suck as much as the majority of Lucio Fulci's sad excuses for "Giallo" films, but all-in-all, I just wish there was something more to it. I didn't care about the characters. They were so simplistically drawn out, and thin as paper. The story is pretty much ruined therefore, and so is a good amount of the experience. Still, I put "Black Belly of the Tarantula" on the better side of decency, just a bit above mediocrity, because it deserves some praise. Like I said, it has enough little moments to be, well, entertaining. I just don't want to call it compelling, or a classic, or even something as ridiculously over-the-top as "the best Giallo ever made", which is the quote taken from a review for the film, and used on the box art. I can't say I blame the people; when you have a film like this; you want the highest praise on display, even if it doesn't necessarily deserve to be held in high regard. Still, obscurity is something that the film shouldn't have met; I think it deserves an audience, and it will get one. It's problematic and muddled, but as long as you don't compare it to classics such as "Deep Red" or "Blood and Black Lace", I think you will be fine.
John M

The film isn't particularly easy to follow; as there's so much going on that it's easy to miss one or two key plot elements. The murder scenes are giallo-standard and nasty, if not necessarily gory. Not a bad movie, but not exceptional either.