Dotsthavesp I wanted to but couldn't!

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

gridoon2018 Promising title, good cast, some stylish camerawork, but the film soon runs out of steam, becoming unoriginal, muddled and tedious. The single best thing about it is Barbara Bouchet's INCREDIBLE a$$ - and you can see that in the first 2 minutes! The finale is quite ridiculous. ** out of 4.

Blake Peterson Unless you tend to believe that sub-genres crumble once their prime decade ends, gialli never died — just rested in blood colored coffins until gore hounds 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.

Lechuguilla The film opens with beautiful actress Barbara Bouchet lying on her stomach, naked, getting a massage. The camera is up close and personal, and we hear soft, lustful music in the background. This opening sets the tone for a film whose plot involves nymphomaniacs and blackmail, and eventually murder.I can tell you that somewhere in the film's first thirty minutes the scriptwriter has set a trap for the viewer. Getting caught in this trap makes solving the whodunit puzzle very hard. "Black Belly Of The Tarantula" is a wonderfully creepy Italian Giallo with effective plot misdirection and several red herrings. Gore is mercifully minimal.In a couple of re-watches up to the final fifteen minutes I vacillated between two or three characters as being the killer. My final guess was dead wrong. The surprise ending thus made the overall plot that much more effective.Cinematography is well done. The visuals look good. When combined with the evocative Morricone score, the film conveys a lush, erotic 1970s look and feel.Though dubbing of the dialogue track is a bit of a nuisance, the main problems relate to the film's script. One important character does not show up until the second half. Also, some characters are not well identified by name. And the ending is a bit too clichéd for my taste.A few imperfections aside, this is a fine Giallo, one worth watching. Its appeal lies mostly in its visuals, including sexy women, and the film's stylish 1970s European ambiance.

Rindiana Moderately watchable by-the-numbers giallo without the stylishness and flamboyant set-pieces of the best ones, but, fortunately, without the excessive absurdities and logical flaws of the worst ones either. (Though there's still enough silliness and idiocy left intact to keep the most fervent genre fan satisfied; not to mention the exploitative attitude giallos are notorious for.) After a strong first half hour, the plot loses momentum up to a lame denouement, followed by the usual ridiculous psychobabble.At least, the pace never flags and the actors are above average.3 out of 10 see-through killer gloves (for a change)