La Tarantola Dal Ventre Nero (aka Black Belly Of The Tarantula) (1971)

A mysterious gloved serial killer is murdering women by injecting them with a fluid that paralyzes their body but does not render them unconscious thus allowing them to feel the pain as they are mutilated but unable to resist or scream. Directed by Paolo Cavara, this is a superior giallo with a fine cast. While when revealed, the killer's motives are psychologically dubious (who watches a giallo for logic, anyway?), the film remains stylish and atmospheric with the murders graphic but never crossing over into an exploitative zone though it does with the nudity. As the detective investigating the case, Giancarlo Giannini is given a lot of leeway with his character allowing him more complexities than is usual for the genre. We can see how the horrors of the case are affecting him personally and causing him to doubt his chosen profession. Ennio Morricone provides the suitably unnerving score. With Stefania Sandrelli (THE CONFORMIST), Barbara Bach, Claudine Auger, Barbara Bouchet, Rossella Falk and Silvano Tranquilli.