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 THE
BLACK BELLY OF THE TARANTULA (Blue
Underground) 1972. 98 Minutes. Not Rated. Nudity and a little blood.
With the aid of a poison from a rare form of wasp and an acupuncture
needle, someone is killing a series of beautiful women. Unfortunately, for
the victims, the poison is not lethal; it paralyzes. Helpless, the women
are forced to watch as the murderer cuts them up. Brought into the case is
Inspector Tellini (Giancarlo Giannini), who finds he really does not have
the stomach for the case. And, for ever murder, the puzzle becomes more
complex until even the Inspector isn’t sure who the killer may be.
The Black Belly of
the Tarantula has one of the sicker premises in the giallo genre. The
idea of taking wasp venom and paralyzing your victims so they are forced
to watch their own demise is a stroke of brilliance. As is the case with a
majority of giallo films, we are subjected to killers in black with rubber
gloves, beautiful and naked Italian women who usually end up as fodder for
the killer, and an ending that comes out of left field that smacks you up
side the head. This film is no exception. With superior acting by all the
principles, a gorgeous score by Ennio Morricone, and superb direction by
Paolo Cavara, The Black Belly of the
Tarantula is a perfect example of the genre. Blue Underground gives us
the film in Widescreen format and, along with the theatricals and
television trailer, we get an interview Lorenzo Danon (son of famed giallo
producer Marcello Danon). At fifteen minutes the interview is a little
shorter than I would like, but then again, I can sit through a three hour
Jess Franco interview without batting an eye.
-Douglas A. Waltz
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