Giallo #8: "The Black Belly of the Tarantula" (1971)

A sadomasochistic killer paralyzes his victims with an acupuncture needle before carving their bellies in Paolo Cavar's "The Black Belly of the Tarantula," another offspring of Mario Bava's "Blood and Black Lace" and Dario Argento's "The Bird with the Crystal Plumage" - your standard-order serial killer mystery routine.
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Following Inspector Tellini, however, as opposed to a hapless socialite or innocent prog-rock drummer, provides "The Black Belly of the Tarantula" with a unique framing device, turning the film into a Fincher-esque detective-mystery instead of a paranoid Argento hack-and-slash, which is quite fun in its own right.
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The film begins with a seedy massage, as the camera focuses on the penetrating hands of the masseuse, similar to the way that the camera will later rely on the killer's gloved, latex-hands during the many brutal killings.
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Inspector Tellini (Giancarlo Giannini) is a relative newcomer to the force and feels incompetent as he attempts to track down the killer, which includes a perilous rooftop chase (a giallo tradition, apparently) at the halfway mark.
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The killer's hat-and-trench coat also seem straight from "Blood and Black Lace," yet, with those nasty methods and creepy home decor (that lamp!), the killer leaves an impression beyond the dopey Rorschach outfit. 
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For those who enjoy high body-counts over paranoia, "The Black Belly of the Tarantula" should appeal mightily and though the film inevitably proved predictable, its unique framing device provides this giallo with an inimitable perspective. Plus, Barbara Bach gets killed in it, come on. [B-]