The Staircase Murders

This is not the same movie as the award winning Sundance film "The Staircase." Both movies are about the Peterson case, however this one is a heavy handed reenactment and the Sundance version is an actual documentary. "The Staircase Murders" reeks of those one-sided made for TV movies that came out in the 90's to profit off sensationalized criminal cases. The movie is set up like a a regular dramatization of events intermittent with fake documentary scenes. Basically referencing/ripping off the Sundance film which had unprecedented access to the case and persons involved. Don't be fooled, this TV movie doesn't let the audience decide their opinion based on all the facts. It doesn't even let the story unfold or have any gray areas. It's very condescending and pushes its agenda with supposed reenactments of interviews. If you haven't heard the story you should skip this and rent the Sundance film that is interesting, suspenseful, and objective. Don't watch this Hollywood knockoff that wishes it had got to the story first.

I have never heard of this case, read the novel, watched the Sundance film that I understand, and believe to be, far superior to this, nor did I know of the existence of any of the aforementioned until earlier today, when I spotted this in the listings. Phew. Did you catch all that? I figured I'd give this a chance, and when the first few minutes of it revealed Treat Williams in the lead, I certainly felt confident that it would be worth the time. This deals with the case of a man who may or may not have pushed his wife down the stairs. The plot isn't bad, and it definitely develops plenty throughout. Pacing is reasonable. The mystery is genuinely interesting, and the many twists and turns kept me guessing from first to last frame. Acting varies, but I didn't find any performances to be downright poor. Cinematography and editing were surprisingly great, for a made-for-TV flick. I kind of agree with those that express the opinion that this sensationalizes something that really happened, and that that's not in good taste. There is blood, violence, disturbing content and, in the dialog, sexual material, in this. I recommend this to those that find themselves attracted to it. 6/10

The documentary has a more up-to-date, DIFFERENT ending.

There's more crime here than just one alleged murder.

This version does highlight the strains within the family, which are huge. (I think Kathleen's sisters would have had Peterson summarily shot immediately after Kathleen was discovered at the bottom of the staircase.)

I read another theory awhile back, without making the all-important connection to this case. Basically, an owl did it. Seemingly absurd on the face of it, but awfully plausible as you look deeper. Kathleen's head injuries are consistent with an owl attack. Maybe an unindicted co-conspirator?

I watched the documentary on t.v some years ago, and was just not shocked about the raw brutality of this story, but the whole circus of having a camera crew involved in a part of this families life. How can you open you life up to a circus show when you just lost a loved one? The t.v film tells the story to great detail, but having seen the documentary before hand I advice to find a copy of it, although none have been found as a torrent as yet. When I hear or see any story about a crime I tend to have an open mind if some one is guilty or not, as that is part of the justice system, but the rule that goes hand in hand for me is, where there is smoke there is fire! and this case has lost and lots of smoke around it for me to have made up my own mind about what happened. If you watch this film I urge you to try and get your hands on the documentary, it is still by far the most bone chilling story I have ever seen, not just due to the nature of the crime, but the whole camera in your face allowing circus that goes with this story,I gave the film a 7, but a 10 out of 10 for the must see documentary.

Treat Williams gives another excellent performance in this true story about a supposedly successful writer on trial for the murder of his second wife. Did he or didn't he kill her by the staircase and make it look like an accidental drunken fall?

Williams does best when he is the victim of accusations. His sinister performance is remarkably done.

Did anyone ever bother to question why the other woman who met her death on a staircase 18 years before looked so good when her body was dug up?

This is also a story of strong family relationships. It depicts how part of that relationship begins to break up as the evidence begins to pile up.

A footnote to all this is that one should never start rejoicing with their attorney until the verdict is announced.