Search - The Black Belly of the Tarantula on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Violence, Nudity, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language Movie Release: 1972 DVD Release: 03/28/2006 Format: DVD - Color,Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English, Italian Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 38 mins Studio: Blue Underground Members Wishing: 8 Genres: Mystery, Crime, Horror, Detective Film, Giallo

This frightening horror-thriller stars Giancarlo Giannini as Inspector Tellini, chasing a killer whose victims are paralyzed with a poisoned acupuncture needle, forcing them to watch helplessly as their stomachs are ripped open with a sharp knife. This method duplicates the habits of the black wasp in slaying tarantulas, explaining the title. Much of the film is spent on a wild goose chase involving Silvano Tranquilli, the husband of the first victim (Barbara Bouchet). All of the suspects soon turn up dead and Giannini turns his attention to an upscale health spa, frequented by each victim, which is a front for blackmail and cocaine smuggling. The mystery itself is fairly obvious, but director Paolo Cavara includes a good deal of action and Ennio Morricone's score is effectively chilling. Among the cast are such genre favorites as Annabella Incontrera, Stefania Sandrelli, Claudine Auger, Rossella Falk, and Giancarlo Priete, and --as in many Italian thrillers of the period -- voyeurism is the primary motif. Barbara Bach and Carla Mancini appear briefly. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Barbara Bach - Jenny
Barbara Bouchet - Maria Zani
Rossella Falk - Woman With Mole
Annabella Incontrera - Mirta
Carla Mancini - Beauty Parlor Client
Stefania Sandrelli - Anna Tellini
Silvano Tranquilli - Paolo Zani
Giancarlo Giannini - Inspector Tellini