Audience Member
If you're na fan of the italian Giallo, this is an absolute "must see". Please don't be put off because it's not made by one of the established directors such as Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci or Sergio Martino just to name a few. In my view because the author did not have to keep up with an recognisable line, he was free to experiment and the result was great.
The plot of the movie is absolutely tortuous, filled with red herrings and will grab you to the screen until the very last minute, when the murderer is finally revealed. The characterisation is great (although the main actor follows the traditional line of the young idealistic polizioto), the women are absolutely stunning, the murder scenes leave a chill up your spine (especially when the murder method is revealed) and you are glued to the screen wondering "who did it". The plot is really thick and can be a challenge to follow but its worthwhile. Much better than some of the least accomplished Argento movies (and I'm a die hard Argento fan). Definitely worth seeing. You won't regret it!!!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
Full Review
david f
A stylish, sexy giallo, I mainly admired the fashion, architecture, and interior design on display in this film about a crazy, violent killer.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Short of some of the camera angles and cinematography, this film offers nothing of substance. It is completely void of a storyline for the viewer to engage in, let alone pique ones interest or intrigue regarding motive/perpetrator (the point of a whodunnit).
Rather, out of absolutely nowhere, we meet a slew of characters who seem to have have substantiated connections to the crime(s), but we never find out how/why nor do we hear from or about them again.
There seems to be a steady stream of photos being taken and sent to those in them for the purpose of blacmail, but we never find out why those people were chosen, what the perpetrators were trying to procure, nor who exactly was involved. The film just forgets about almost everyone to whom we are introduced, shows us culprits whom we have never seen, but by whom we are supoosed to be shocked for being involved, and neglects the storyline.
We also never find out why those assisting the perpetrator were doing so, although they have ties.
If you want to see an absolutely pointless film, likened only to the equally slip-shot story conveyed in the film adaptation of The Fifth Cord, this is for you. If you want an enthralling/mind-boggling, but sensible story with incredible camera angles and acting, turn to A Bay of Blood, The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh, The Case of the Scorpion's Tail, or really anything but this.
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
02/02/23
Full Review
Audience Member
This is a very enjoyable giallo. The characters are interesting and the story keeps you engaged the entire film. Also features a great score by the legendary Ennio Morricone.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/15/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Unless you tend to believe that subgenres crumble once their prime decade ends, gialli never died - just rested in blood colored coffins until gorehounds rediscovered their artfully minded slasher perks in the 2000s and couldn't help but lap them up. "The Black Belly of the Tarantula" is one of the better known examples, so long as you pretend Dario Argento and Mario Bava don't exist for a moment. Because gialli not helmed by Argento or Bava strove for killer offings rather than smartly nourished whodunit charades, and, unfortunately for this film, which often seems to rank high on those blood soaked "best giallo" lists, does nothing more than pale in comparison to all those damned Argento and Bava pictures. Stylish to a fault but also shoddily dubbed, acted, written, and directed, it intrigues for bits and pieces (those bits and pieces being the murders themselves) and then leaves us in the cold with Giancarlo Gianni, who, despite his later Oscar fame, turns charisma into emotionless leaden material with just the bat of an eyelash.
As in all decent giallo films, "The Black Belly of the Tarantula" details a series of murders, all involving attractive women and cringey circumstances. The killer, maniacal and sex obsessed (a shock), practices a particularly cruel method of slaughter - in addition to his butcher knife, he brings along a needle dipped in black wasp venom, causing paralysis for anyone who gets the stuff in their bloodstream. That way, his victims are forced to remain defenseless as they watch (and feel) their insides get ripped open. What a joy! (Vomits.)
Young woman after young woman is stalked and slashed; each murder is edited with such impressive precision (cross-cutting is as well-executed as an excruciating long-shot) that we can't help but want to applaud Paolo Cavara for taking a route authentically suspenseful rather than hackish. But I digress. As the madman sneakily wanders around, eyeing potential victims, the killings themselves are being investigated by Inspector Tellini (Gianni), a young policeman not so sure he can stomach such a high amount of atrocities for much longer.
While "The Black Belly of the Tarantula" keeps us interested with its frenzied mystery-meets-gore approach, nonexistent are the normally intoxicating images presented by most gialli. Aside for clean-cut edits and assertively framed shots (mostly found within the scope of a murder), the film is mostly dry, thrilling only when action is present. In better giallo pictures, such as "Suspiria" and "The Bird with the Crystal Plumage" (both directed by Argento), terror is always part of the atmosphere - distinctively nightmarish imagery, after all, is what makes giallo so much finer than your average slasher. "The Black Belly of the Tarantula" oft threatens to be your average slasher - so thank goodness so much attention is put into how the killings are shot. Otherwise, we'd have a bad case of sex-and-death-101 nobody wants.
But aside from a grouping of inventive offings (the second victim's demise, photographed in a clothing store, cleverly inserts doll-like mannequins to mirror the soon-to-be dead woman's paralyzed helplessness), "The Black Belly of the Tarantula" is nothing more than a subpar giallo. Considering it was made as a cash-in ready to imitate the success of "The Bird with the Crystal Plumage" at the time, it's only fitting that it hardly compares to the best of Dario Argento and Mario Bava. Dammit! - there are those names again.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/03/23
Full Review
Audience Member
An absolute treat to watch. My obsession with all things gialli continue
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/08/23
Full Review
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