La tarantola dal ventre nero (1971)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Paolo Cavara

Writers:

Marcello Danon (story)
Lucile Laks (screenplay)

Release Date:

12 August 1971 (Italy)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

With needles dipped in deadly venom the victims are paralyzed - so they must lie awake and watch themselves die!

Plot:

Inspector Tellini investigates serial crimes where victims are paralyzed while having their bellies ripped open with a sharp knife...

Plot Keywords:

Victim | Spa | Tarantula | Wasp | Knife

Cast

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
Anna Saia	...	Maria's friend
Eugene Walter	...	Ginetto, the waiter
Nino Vingelli	...	Inspector Di Giacomo
Daniele Dublino	...	Entomologist
Giuseppe Fortis	...	Psychiatrist

Also Known As:

Black Belly of the Tarantula (USA)
Tarentule au ventre noir (France)

Runtime:

89 min | Italy:98 min (uncut)

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X (original rating) | USA:Not Rated (DVD rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Italy:T (DVD rating) | Finland:(Banned) (1972) | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Company:

Da Ma Produzione

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Crew member visible in second victim's clothes shop.

The Naked Belly of the Bond Girl

(Potential Spoilers)

If you dig naked Bond girls, overripe Ennio Morricone scores, and ridiculous giallo plots with garishly masked killers murdering half-dressed bimbinas in ridiculously elaborate ways, The Black Belly of the Tarantula is for you. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to currently be available in English (I saw an Italian-language version with Spanish subtitles). Still nobody watches these movies for the dialogue, and the plot still makes no sense even if you can more or less understand what's being said on screen. Besides, most gialli fans won't concern themselves too much with the plot or dialogue after the opening scene with a buck naked Barbara Bouchet. The only real complaint I had is that the killer turns out to be the most obvious red herring character in the movie. The point of having an obvious red herring character is that he or she is NOT supposed to actually be the killer. (I can't decide if the movie is especially inept or ham-handedly subversive). But did I mention the opening scene. . ?