The Black Belly of the Tarantula

The Black Belly of the Tarantula (La tarantola dal ventre nero, 1971) is an Italian giallo you can watch online on iFILM. A killer is loose in Rome with a signature method: a needle of paralyzing venom freezes each victim, who stays awake to watch the blade go in.

On the case is Inspector Tellini, a tired, self-doubting cop played by Giancarlo Giannini. The trail runs through a beauty spa, blackmail, and photographs somebody would kill to keep hidden. The victims are glamorous women — and the cast stacks three future and former screen icons against the knife: Barbara Bouchet, Claudine Auger and Barbara Bach.

The title nods to a wasp that paralyzes a tarantula before devouring it, which is exactly the murderer's trick. Director Paolo Cavara delivers a textbook entry in the genre: chilly early-70s modernism, black gloves, a razor, and an Ennio Morricone score doing half the work. Required viewing if you love classic giallo. Stream The Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971) online on iFILM.