The Spiral Staircase

Another re-make disaster from a worn out industry. It is the social distance and the hermetically sealed emotional barriers between the characters which are the mainspring of the 1940s version. Sets, characterization and nuanced performance combine with eerie music and special effects to make the original movie work. In this version, there is some spooky music but the camera dwells on deep cleavages and luxury goods, suntans and landscape gardens. The performances are mediocre and the only 'electricity' produced is from a generator which mysteriously fails during a storm. The creaking woodwork gives a more convincing performance than the leads who all seem to speak their lines by numbers: "do you (2-3) want to (2-3) speak again..." There is an attempt to make a Freudian analysis of the situation which also appears to come from some sort of 'Freud for Dummies' manual. The original and the seventies re-make are both available on DVD- why not spend the time you might have wasted on this turkey going out to find a copy instead!

Give the cast credit where credit is due! Judd Nelson and Nicolette Sheridan spew more electricity than a power station underfoot Godzilla. The scenery and haunting background music make an eerie ambiance which certainly adds to the film's chill factor. I absolutely adored this adaptation. One must admit, it's brimming with humor, though perhaps not intentionally, but for pete's sake, it was made for television! Give it a chance!! It may not quite give you goosebumps but definitely a warm chuckle and fuzzy feeling!!

I didn't really care for this mystery-thriller at all... it barely has anything that gives the viewer a good reason to watch it. The ending scene has a little intensity, but it is badly filmed, as is the rest of the film, so the small amount of intensity there is, is lost in bad cuts and lousy camera work. Apart from the ending, the only feasible reason to see it is the mystery and the humor. The film does have a decent amount of humor, but humor can only make up for so much bad acting, boring plot, and dull film. The mystery is OK, it did have me guessing until the very end, but it just seems like a lazy attempt at making a "family" slasher film, by having someone die on a regular basis. Unfortunately, the family part shines through far more than the slasher does, so all of the kills, and I do mean *all* of them, are off-screen and barely detailed at all, to keep it safe for the kids, too. What in the world were they thinking? Why would kids watch this, why would the family sit down and watch this? There are plenty of other, better family oriented films out there, why ruin what little potential this one had as an teenage/adult film. Had this been R-rated, it would have been much more interesting. I know that this is a remake, and that there are two films made earlier with virtually the same plot as this, so, if you're reading this, and you can't figure out which one of the three to choose, take my advice: take the second movie, from '75, or, better yet, take the original, from '46. I haven't seen either but I can almost guarantee that they are better than this. I can't really imagine them being much worse, actually. I recommend this only to huge fans of mystery-thrillers, as it is definitely *not* among the best in the genre. At best, it's average, but maybe that's enough for big fans. 5/10

I agree with DrSatan that this update of the 1946 classic is not well done. Above all, it lacks style and ambience. Beyond that, the plot is seriously weakened by the omission of the doctor's character; the new twist at the end (with its trite motivation sans the Freudian psychological flair of the original); and the hokey camera angles which make the house appear to be listing in a stormy sea. The childish secret passageways and cobweb-covered staircase are out-of-place in a film which otherwise tries too hard to be adult.

Even the pale 1970's remake with gorgeous Jacqueline Bisset is better than this truly missable, misguided project.

This is easily the most boring and predictable movie I have ever seen. The plot is extremely thin and the direction does little to put any feeling of fear or suspense into the mind of the viewer. The acting also is mediocre. All in all, a waste of time, money and effort.