In a remake of the 1940s film, Helen has been incapable of speech since seeing her husband die - will she become the target of a deranged serial killer targeting disabled people?In a remake of the 1940s film, Helen has been incapable of speech since seeing her husband die - will she become the target of a deranged serial killer targeting disabled people?In a remake of the 1940s film, Helen has been incapable of speech since seeing her husband die - will she become the target of a deranged serial killer targeting disabled people?
- Steven
- (as John Philip Law)
- Visitor
- (uncredited)
- Police Photographer
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThird of four versions of "The Spiral Staircase." The first was The Spiral Staircase (1946), the second was The Spiral Staircase (1961), made for television, and the fourth was The Spiral Staircase (2000), also for television.
- GoofsAll entries contain spoilers
- Quotes
Blanche: Do you know that we have four hundred and eighty-five applications for next year's course already?
Dr. Sherman: You know, I swear if I propose to you, you'd file it under "applications".
Blanche: [pulling a book from the shelf and clearing her throat before she starts to read aloud] On page eighteen, chapter three, rule four: "Many a good secretary has married her boss. No good boss has ever married his secretary." Quote, unquote.
Dr. Sherman: [pointing to the now closed book in her hands] I wrote that before you came in.
Blanche: Why don't we go have a drink to that.
- ConnectionsRemade as The Spiral Staircase (2000)
"GASP! Oh, it's only you! You startled me. Say, what are you doing down here? No...don't come any closer! No...no.... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" *gets murdered*
The performances are mediocre. Christopher Plummer is one of those actors who can turn in amazing work when he cares. Here, he doesn't seem to. Jacqueline Bissett is, frankly, quite forgettable in the lead role. When actors don't have dialogue to lean on, they sure had better be charismatic and expressive; as the mute Helen, the wooden Bissett is just not up to the challenge. Mildred Dunnock, as the family matriarch on her deathbed, is probably the strongest member of the cast.
What else is there to say? It's a mess, and not a very interesting one. Helen's backstory, in which her husband and daughter died in a fire, doesn't add up to much, and the flashbacks are so ridiculous they're hard to take seriously. The music is standard. I can't take pride in having guessed the identity of the killer early on, but I think I would have guessed it just as easily even had I not seen the 1946 version. The best idea in the movie is a sequence (I don't remember if this was included in prior versions and haven't read the novel) in which Helen, being stalked through the house by the now-unmasked killer, finds that Mrs. Oates, the housekeeper, is unable to help her--not because she is dead or incapacitated, but merely because she is too drunk to take the events seriously.
- nightwishouge
- Aug 27, 2022
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Das Geheimnis der Wendeltreppe
- Filming locations
- Bracknell, Berkshire, England, UK(location)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 29 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1