

Puglia, southern Italy, around 1400. A convent is invaded by the Tarantula cult, whose fanatical and crazed members desecrate the sacred place by committing obscene and bloody acts.
Acting
Florinda Bolkan's feral, transformative performance
Cinematography
Sweaty, sun-bleached Puglia landscapes like holy hell
Direction
Mingozzi's unflinching feminist exploitation pivot

Director
Gianfranco Mingozzi
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Part of the 1970s 'nunsploitation' wave, but Mingozzi intended it as leftist critique of Catholic patriarchy—Bolkan researched actual heretic nuns for the role.
The real Tarantula cult (tarantismo) was a documented Apulian phenomenon where women danced to cure 'spider bites'—read by scholars as coded female rebellion against oppressive labor conditions.
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