Black Belly of the Tarantula is a pretty well made film that never goes too far over the top. You get just about everything you could want as a giallo fan, but maybe in smaller doses than you're used to - a creepy stalking killer, sexy victims, decent style and competent action. None of it is really going to blow you away, but it's a good enough entry into the genre and worth seeing if you're a fan.
The beginning of the film is a bit jarring - you've got the beautiful Maria (Barbara Bouchet) getting a (nude) massage at a spa while the credits run, then she quickly taking a phone call where she argues a bit with her husband... and cut to spousal abuse. At home, her husband smacks her around for cheating on him - apparently someone had taken pictures of her adulterous affair and sent them to her husband. So right off the bat, you've got the typical giallo trappings of sex paired with violence.
One night a little bit later, Maria is killed by an intruder, who paralyzes her with an acupuncture needle before slowly stabbing her with a knife. Her husband is clearly the main suspect, but Inspector Tellini (Giancarlo Giannini) doesn't have enough proof to put him away. Meanwhile, more victims surface, killed in the same graphic way - paralyzed by a needle to the neck, and then having their bellies sliced open. (There is a parallel between the killer's M.O. and the way a spider wasp kills a tarantula, but other than giving the film a cool title it's a pretty frivolous connection.) As Tellini gets closer and closer to finding out the truth - drug money? The shady spa? Black-mail? - he finds his own life, as well as that of his girlfriend, could be in danger.
Looking back, I guess the thing I liked the most about the film is how steady it is. There are no real peaks and valleys in Black Belly of the Tarantula - it's just well-paced and pretty solid all of the way through. The action scenes (of both the kill and the chase variety) are evenly divvied out, and there isn't a lot of downtime. While the pace certainly isn't breathless, it flows well. Oddly enough, the weakest link in the film is the central mystery - it's kind of shaky and not particularly well-explained in my opinion. But everything else works so well that it's easy to overlook.
Horror-wise? There is some pretty decent stuff here. The unseen gloved killer seemed really menacing to me. Usually I'm used to seeing killers in leather gloves or whatever, but here the killer gets rubber ones. It just looks clammy and gross for some reason, and brings a sort of clinical feel to the killings. While the gore itself is a little on the campy side (the blood is very red-painty) the kills are effective because of the way the camera dwells on the victims (usually nude - again mixing the sex & violence) and isn't afraid to focus on the knife doing it's thing. There isn't a ton of stalking, but you get some decent tension from just knowing what's going to happen whenever a potential victim is alone. The kills are screamy and not "fun," so you're left with a sort of reverse anticipation for these scenes.
Inspector Tellini is an interesting character to spend time with as well. He's not really the alpha-male badass that you often see in procedural films... in fact, he spends much of the film wondering if he's really cut out to be a cop, and if he can stomach all of the violence he comes across in this line of work. Giancarlo Giannini is does a great job with the character - showing how he's unsure of himself, but at the same time being committed to seeing the case through to the end. He's an easy guy to get behind, and ends up carrying much of the film.
Black Belly of the Tarantula also looks pretty good - the action takes place in some interesting locations that are creatively shot. There isn't a ton of flash or flair to the proceedings, but the camera moves along with the action capably when it has to. The mid-movie rooftop chase scene is particularly well-choreographed and a better action sequence than you usually get in giallo films of this era.
And I got a good laugh out of the cat in the film... it's an alley cat that visits one of the characters often, and they let the little guy in so he has a nice place to sleep at night. So nice of them. Well, one night the killer is out there too, and finds his way into the house when they let the cat in. But it's shot like the cat is totally in on it - the killer hides off to the side while the cat looks at him and then paws at the door. I've always gone under the assumption that most cats would probably kill their owners if they could, so I thought this little bit was pretty funny. At least aiding and abetting a murderer seems right in line with my cat's disposition.
Overall, Black Belly of the Tarantula is a well-made and solid flick. It's well-paced and hits all of the marks you want in a giallo/thriller. Definitely worth checking out, and probably a decent starting point if you're just dipping your toes into the genre.
I would recommend this film.
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