The Spiral Staircase

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.

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!!

this is worth a television viewing especially if you like whodoneit type movies. Very agatha christieish, I liked the mood of the flick-that whole agatha/clue type atmosphere-I didn't even know it was a remake till I saw that on this website.I guess if the original was THAT good I can understand why many people who saw both versions might not like this but sicne I only saw this version I can say the suspence level was there and I enjoyed watching it. I'd give this a 7.5 of 10.

Builds up slowly. And then it adds up to good entertainment. I cannot understand why reviewers compare with previous works. Each is an independent presentation and to most viewers it is not an academic effort of comparison, one sits on an afternoon or night to be entertained in this make believe celluloid world. In that aspect this movie delivers as a most satisfying experience.

Why remake "The Spiral Staircase", which is no classic but a good little thriller for TV? Why change around the story in ways which only hurt the production? I'm refering to the move of the events of the story to an island, the subtraction of one pivotal character and the addition of a second, the move of time period from the Victorian era to the modern day (as the original was a period piece you could have just left it there). Having Helen arrive during the story, rather than having her be a well established and beloved member of the household really hurts the story. Taking out her love interest, the doctor, from the original story also muddles up things considerably. Adding on the ridiculous "secret passage through the house" only hurts the film, as does changing the killer's motive from psychosis to money. The original film also had a much better cast, all around. Finally, why is it that so many writers feel that to update a movie, you need to make all of the characters more vulgar and unlikable? Sure, we might swear a bit more now, but I wouldn't say that the porportion of jerks is quite as high as it is in this film.

My advice to anyone contemplating seeing this film is to skip it and seek out the original. You'll get a better acted, directed, lit, scored, and written film.