Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971)

- La tarantola dal ventre nero
A particularly sadistic means of murder, 10 April 2006

If you were looking for a blueprint on the common elements of a Gaillo, The Black Belly of the Tarantula would be a good example. It contains just about every cliché associated with the genre – outrageous death scenes, a gloved killer, a convoluted plot, and beautiful women.

1. Outrageous Death Scenes – The killer's mode of murder is to paralyze his victims so they are conscious and aware of the butchering they are receiving. It's a particularly sadistic touch.

2. A Gloved Killer – What self-respecting Giallo doesn't feature a gloved killer? They may not be black gloves, but they're gloves nonetheless. The killer is the Giallo standard issue – trench coat, wide brimmed hat, the aforementioned gloves, and an uncanny ability to move silently and predict the victims every move.

3. A Convoluted Plot – The plot is all over the place. In the end, most of it makes sense, but it's nice to watch everything unfold before the final reveal. Maybe I'm just too easily taken in, but I would have never guessed the killer's true identity.

4. Beautiful Women – I don't' believe there's any need to say more than The Black Belly of the Tarantula features three Bond girls – Barbara Bach, Barbara Bouchet, and Claudine Auger.

It's all here and done with a healthy dose of style (however unoriginal much of it unfortunately might be). It's well done Italian fun!

7/10