The Black Belly of the Tarantula

Devotees of the Italian giallo should welcome the uncut DVD issue of Paolo Cavara's 1971 film, which was released in the U.S. by MGM with some nine minutes excised (the gorier bits, of course) from the running-time and rather badly dubbed. As usual with the genre, the plot revolves around a mad killer who dispatches his (or her) victims in the most baroque possible fashion: in this case, the murderer, dressed in black coat and hat, first paralyzes the person with an injection of spider venom and then guts her (the targets are invariably women) while she's still alive but helpless. Meanwhile, a police inspector—a depressed soul played by the young Giancarlo Giannini—tries to discover the perpetrator through methods that most viewers will consider lackadaisical at best. But one shouldn't expect logic in a movie like this; invariably the killer turns out to be the most unlikely suspect, and the reasons behind the spree are outlandish. What the giallo is all about is the lurid set-piece, and here Cavara delivers in spades: the blood flows easily, beautiful actresses show substantial quantities of skin (the film features three Bond girls: Claudine Auger, Barbara Bouchet, and Barbara Bach), the camerawork is flamboyant, and the colors are vibrant. This doesn't equal the best from Dario Argento—the acknowledged master of the genre—but it should satisfy aficionados. Presented in an excellent transfer with both the English subtitled original Italian and dubbed versions, the only major extra here is an interview with Lorenzo Danon, son of co-writer/producer Marcello. A strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)