Movie Review: The Black Belly of the Tarantula

The Black Belly of the Tarantula

Directed by Paolo Cavera
1971
3.5 out of 5 Stars

*Slight Spoilers Ahead*

I have a love for old movies, specifically from 70's and 80's, which I wholly credit to my parents who exposed me to such classics as "The Goonies", "The Dark Crystal", "Labyrinth", and the "Princess Bride". From there I found more obscure films that soon became my favorites, like Neil Jordan's 1984 adaption of one of Angela Carter's short stories, "The Company of Wolves" . Recently my sister (go follow her blog!) has developed an obsession with "Giallo" films, a type of Italian produced horror/thriller of the 60s, 70s, and some of the 80s, typified by fantastical plots, beautiful women, and a bit of psychedelic fashion.
I'm, of course, hooked.

One she's had on her list for a long time is "The Black Belly of the Tarantula", directed by Paolo Cavera. We watched it on Amazon Prime with high expectations of ridiculousness and got just that within minutes of it opening. The beautiful Barbara Bouchet is laid out nude on a table, perfectly tan and svelte, getting a message while campy music plays. Her masseuse is blind, because why not, and their session is soon interrupted by her receiving a call. She argues with someone the phone and reluctantly sets up a meeting. Cut to her being slapped around by a man who we later discover is her estranged husband. He's upset with some photos he's found of her naked with another man. She later becomes the unfortunate first victim of a killer who stabs his victims through the nape of the neck with a long needle, paralyzing them but keeping them alive as he slowly cuts them open. 

We are shown loving closeups of the killer's hands as he prepares his weapon of choice, but receive no hints as to who he could be. They are covered by the strange latex gloves he wears, similar to those worn by the police as they comb through the evidence. 

On the case is Inspector Tellini, played by a very young Giancarlo Giannini, who is in his own words, "not cut out for it". He's puzzled by the murder, and looks for comfort with from his wife, Anna, played by Stefania Sandrelli. We get some scenes that at first seem to do little to further the plot, of him at home, Anna having sold all their furniture and a stray cat she feeds wanting to be let into the apartment from the veranda. This later turns out to be tantamount in one of the final scenes. 

We later learn where the name of the movie comes from in a skin-crawling scene showing a wasp fight a tarantula, piercing the spider's tender belly with it's stinger and paralyzing it to lay its eggs within, all while the spider is alive and aware. 

From there the plot gets a little thin, with drugs and blackmail at the health spa thrown into the mix. As the murders stack up and the suspect list grows smaller, I found myself wondering if my hunch could be true. The end is far-fetched to say the least, but I did turn out to be right. I also felt it was a bit lackluster after the dramatics of the rest of the film.

For me, it just wasn't as good as my current favorite Giallo film "Deep Red" or "Profondo Rosso" by Dario Argento, but it was a fun way to waste an hour and a half. Watch it for the beautiful women, the scenery, and the style.