Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

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.

A not so great giallo with a very over-inflated reputation. Giancarlo Giannini is trying to track down a lunatic who's been injecting women with the paralyzing agent of a wasp. The victim then gets to watch her own murder. While the idea is compelling, the film, directed by Paolo Cavara, is not particularly intriguing. There's very little build up to any of the crimes therefore there's no suspense. The acting is fine, particularly by Giannini as a world weary police inspector. The supporting cast includes such beauties as Barbara Bach, Barbara Bouchet, and Claudine Auger. The great Stefania Sandrelli plays Giannini's wife and Ezio Marano plays a creepy blind masseuse. The music is by Ennio Morricone.

As a fan of the genre, I picked this movie up on DVD after finding it listed among the "top ten" Giallo films of all time. The trailer seemed a tad murky but I'm generally easy to please...so I gave it a shot.Big mistake. "Black Belly of the Tarantula" is one of those films whose synopsis sounds so good...but the film is a mess. It is unbelievably tedious and un-involving with a disjointed plot that makes you wonder if the script wasn't tossed into a blender before being filmed.Only the leading man (detective) role is defined. The other characters are just part of a dizzying parade of faces you never get to know. Don't ask me what it's about--although I sat through the whole thing, I never understood any of it. I can tell you that between agonizing passages of boy meets girl babble, there is the occasional "throw-away" perfunctory murder.These murder scenes are described as wildly diabolical and violent in all the reviews--why? They are very brief and consist of one quick injection with an acupuncture needle, followed by one slow cut by a half-knife. So what? There's no suspense and you don't know or care about anyone whose dying.For me, the only interesting aspect was the inclusion of actor Montgomery Glenn, who appeared in several '60s Italian thrillers with Barbara Steele and here plays a small supporting role. They give him very little to do.The Big Finale was a huge pile of nothing...quite underwhelming. No spoilers here, but suffice it to say it will leave you saying "huh?" just like the rest of this snore-inducing epic.Right up there with the equally indifferent yawner, "Case of the Yellow Scorpion."

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)