THE BLACK BELLY OF THE TARANTULA

(Paolo Cavara,1971)

Here's another title that helped define the genre. It has not one, not two, but THREE Bond girls (Barbara Bach, Barbara Bouchet, Claudine Auger), a sometimes dreamy, sometimes menacing Ennio Morricone score, and of course, a rubber gloved, fedora-clad maniac.

Inspector Tellini (Giancarlo Giannini) is in pursuit of a madman responsible for the muders of several beautiful women. The poor girls meet a gruesome end, each paralyzed by a needle through the neck so that she's forced to watch herself being disemboweled, a practice, Tellini learns, that's typical of a certain type of tarantula-killing wasp. True to form, the killer is always one step/ victim ahead of the police, and is quite aware of where Tellini lives, and his growing proximity.

TBBOTT is classic giallo, and has most, if not all, of the conventions, storywise and visually. Expect swingin' sets, retro fashions, nudity, violence, (cheap) gore, mannequins, shining blades, and so on. There's an odd visual cue, that of a fringed swag lamp being turned off by the killer prior to each murder, that I found sinister and intriguing, much the same as the killer observing the painting in Dario Argento's The Bird With The Crystal Plumage. With the exception of the set-pieces, the cinematography here is a bit dull when compared to it's brethren, but the violent and sensual aspects, heightened greatly by the aforementioned Morricone soundtrack, should hold most viewers' interest well enough. Definitely recommended.

DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING

(Lucio Fulci, 1972)



Fulci's second entry into the Giallosphere is both one of his best efforts and one of the best examples the genre has to offer. One can tell it was made early in Lucio's career, as an extraordinary amount of effort and panache went into its making. The scenes are well laid out and stylish, the acting above-par, and the story highly intriguing.



Reporter Andrea Martelli (Tomas Milian) is in a remote Italian village covering the recent murder of a preteen boy. The obvious suspects include the village idiot, Giuseppe, village witch, Maciara (Florinda Bolkan), and the predatory Patrizia, a woman sent to the village as punishment by her father after a drug scandal. More child murders ensue, and the villagers become more fanatical and violent as the police fail to produce serious suspects. This is easily one of Fulci's most offensive and critical films, and is powerful and engaging in that respect.



The monster at large in this feature is not necessarily the killer; it's the village itself. This is by far and large Fulci's greatest social commentary, a scathing portrayal of rural ignorance, fear of outsiders and outside religion, and religious fear of sex. We are first introduced to the mob when Giuseppe, having been arrested by the police for extortion in relation to the first boy's murder, is almost assaulted on the way to the police car. Later, after two more boys have died and Maciara has taken credit for their demise by means of magic, the villagers become furious and sadistic. In the saddest part of the whole ordeal, Maciara is first shunned by the villagers, then beaten savagely in the graveyard. She crawls, half dead, to the grave of her stillborn son, where she expires. Cars pass by on the highway, oblivious of the backwater town and its denizens.



Don't Torture a Duckling is as beautiful as film as it is savage. Excellent use was made of the rural setting with its golden, rocky hills and whitewashed buildings. Also easy on the eyes is lead actress Barbara Bouchet, whose sordid character is both alluring and appalling. The music by Riz Ortolani is startling and dark, and the early effects by Gianetto De Rossi are fairly gruesome, though the overuse of the mannequin at the end was slightly unconvincing. I wouldn't recommend this for fans of Demons and other "pizza schlock"; this is a solid film that demands one's attention and doesn't disappoint. Buy it here.

THE RED QUEEN KILLS 7 TIMES

(Emilio Miraglia, 1972)



Ah, one of my favorite Gothic gialli. This one's about a family cursed by the Red Queen, a murderous ancestral spirit who returns every 100 years to claim 7 victims. As children, Kitty and her sister Evelyn were fascinated by the legend, Evelyn so much that in the opening to the film she decapitates Kitty's doll with a pair of shears. Fast forward to present day (1972 being present day). Kitty is all grown up and has a garish new wardrobe, but is plagued by the guilt of having accidentally killed Evelyn. She is also being blackmailed by a greasy little fellow in leather who was hot for her sister. When someone starts killing her friends and loved ones, rumors go about that the Red Queen has returned.



I'm a fan of pretty much any Gothic giallo (7 Deaths in the Cat's Eye, Murder Mansion, Something Creeping in the Dark, Murder Obsession, etc), but this one stands out a little bit. The film itself is quite dark, and makes good use of shadow and contrast. The Red Queen herself is quite the antagonist, striking out randomly with her dagger before running off cackling insanely. There is a decent amount of gore to be seen here, the highlight being one unfortunate character falling on an iron fence and catching herself with her jaw!



The standard Giallo elements are all present: black gloves, a straight razor, blackmail, and a trillion red herrings. The lovely Barbara Bouchet and Marina Malfatti star, and there are a couple other familiar faces among the cast. The wardrobes are especially disturbing in this, and anyone with an aversion to plaid should steer clear. The score by Bruno Nicolai is catchy and appropriate, and the sets are bright and ultramod (though one was obviously bought off Sergio Martino when he was done with it!) Recommended for intermediate viewers.