Recent Reviews
DVD Review: The Black Belly of the Tarantula
By HammerFanatic
Apr 16, 2006, 10:01

In 1971, director Paolo Cavara and writers, Marcello Danon and Lucile Laks brought, The Black Belly of the Tarantula, to the big screen. Starring, Giancarlo Giannini (Inspector Tellini), Claudine Auger (Laura), Barbara Bouchet (Maria Zani), Rossella Falk (Franca Valentino), Silvano Tranquilli (Paolo Zani), Annabella Incontrera (Mirta Ricci), Ezio Marano (Masseur), Barbara Bach (Jenny), Stefania Sandrelli (Anna Tellini), Giancarlo Prete (Mario) and Eugene Walter (Ginetto, the Waiter).

Inspector Tellini (Giancarlo Giannini) is assigned the daunting case of figuring out who is killing women in a most gruesome fashion. The victims have been paralyzed using an acupuncture needle coated with the venom of the Tarantula Hawk Wasp, a deadly predator of the tarantula which injects the tarantula with the paralyzing venom, disembowels the tarantula, lays it's eggs inside the spider and thus the tarantula becomes a nesting place for the baby spiders and is also the nourishment for the newborns.....all while still living and unable to move. The victims suffer the same horrible fate....they are left paralyzed, fully conscious and aware of what's happening, as the killer guts them. The first victim is Maria Zani (Barbara Bouchet) and her abusive husband is an immediate suspect, as it seems Maria was something of a nymphomaniac and was having affairs left and right with photographs sent to her husband to prove it. As the body mount rises, Tellini quickly begins to doubt his ability to stop the murders and save future victims. His wife, Anna (Stefania Sandrelli) is quick to stand by her husband and gently urges him to continue with his investigation. When one murder victim is discovered, it seems she was also into cocaine trafficking and tarantulas are used to smuggle the drug into the country. A little more digging and all the victims have ties to a local health spa and Tellini goes to the spa and interviews the owner, Laura (Claudine Auger) and some of her staff. Making things even more difficult, the killer wears heavy latex gloves, leaving no clues behind as to who may be behind the murders. There's no shortage of possible suspects, but the question is, can Tellini figure this whodunit out before the number of dead continue to pile up?

Blue Underground has released The Black Belly of the Tarantula in a very nice package for the film's first release in any format in North America. The film is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and the picture quality looks outstanding. Audio options include original Italian in Dolby Digital Mono or Dolby digital English with optional English subtitles. Bonus features for this disc include:

-An Interview With Lorenzo Danon (Son of writer and producer Marcello Danon)

-Theatrical Trailer For The Black Belly of the Tarantula (U.S.)

-TV Spot For The Black Belly of the Tarantula and The Weekend Murders (U.S.)

This was my first ever viewing of, The Black Belly of the Tarantula and I certainly didn't walk away disappointed. I've only gotten into the giallo film scene over the past couple of years, but it's been an interesting discovery and more times than not, I'm very happy with what I've discovered. The Black Belly of the Tarantula is very well paced, it never bogs down and has some excellent visuals. Has plenty of attractive women in various states of nudity, a scene with a tarantula that creeps this arachnophobe out, several red herrings, a great musical score and a few murders scenes that will have the viewer sit up and take notice. While it may not take a long time for some viewers to figure out who is behind the murders, it's still a lot of fun to watch this murder mystery unfold. I think most any fan of gialli, thrillers or mysteries will get their money's worth with this film.

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