Aggiungi una trama nella tua linguaIn 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?
- Regia
- Sceneggiatura
- Star
- Steven
- (as John Philip Law)
- Visitor
- (non citato nei titoli originali)
- Police Photographer
- (non citato nei titoli originali)
Recensioni in evidenza
Helen Mallory (Jacqueline Bisset) has been unable to speak since she witnessed her husband and child being killed in a house fire. Her doctor, Dr Rawley (John Ronane), has tried for several years to help her recover her speech but without success. He is very concerned for Helen's safety, as a serial killer has recently been at work in the city and all the victims share one thing in common they are all disabled in some way. Helen goes away to her uncle's nearby mansion, which also doubles as an institution for the handicapped. Here she finds herself in the company of her uncle Joe Sherman (Christopher Plummer), his secretary and lover Blanche (Gayle Hunnicut), angry brother Steven Sherman (John Philip Law), a strict nurse (Elaine Stritch), housekeepers Mr and Mrs Oates (Ronald Radd, Sheila Brennan) and the ill, old bed-bound Sherman mother (Mildred Dunnock). A ferocious thunderstorm plunges the house into a power-cut, and before long it becomes apparent that the serial killer who has been preying upon handicapped women is one of those trapped inside the mansion. It is now Helen who finds herself next on the killer's list, unless she can find a way to survive .
This is such a reliable, some might say "archetypal", story that all it needed was some thoughtful lighting and a well-judged sense of pace in order to work. But sadly director Collinson has spent too much time setting up pointless and weird camera angles instead of concentrating on the basics of suspense. If he had gone for the afore-mentioned thoughtful lighting and the better-judged sense of pace, this would have emerged a half-decent remake. The actors seem indifferent towards the material and give performances way below their best. Bisset has the difficulty of contending with a wordless role and is nothing more than average in the part; Plummer looks rightfully bored as the professor; Law snaps and snarls ineffectually as his bad-tempered brother; Dunnock spends most of the film acting drugged as the poorly old mother of the clan. For a good hour or so, very little happens in the film and one invariably finds oneself staring vacantly at the screen, waiting with misplaced optimism for a flash of suspense. Not even the music by David Lindup manages to generate any excitement or atmosphere. When the killings finally begin and Helen goes on the run in the dark passages of the house, trying to escape from her murderous assailant, the sequence is done rather flatly with little in the way of true excitement. If you're planning on watching a version of The Spiral Staircase some time soon, the best advice I can give is that you stick with the vastly superior original!
Pointless redo. The original is a classic--what's the point or remaking it? I caught this on TV late at night back in the 1970s. I had seen the original and was interested in seeing how this stood up. Sadly it turned out to be pretty bad. Despite a great cast (Bisset, Christopher Plummer, John Phillip Law, Elaine Stritch) this is pretty slow-moving and dull. There's virtually no suspense or atmosphere and it looks like it was made on a very low budget which hurts. The cast tries their best but even their considerable talents can't liven this up. You can safely skip this one. See the original.
I give it a 3 because the cast does try and Bisset looks stunning (as always).
To make things worse, the film stars that store mannequin, John Phillip Law. Ugh.
The highlight is Elaine Stritch. She has the best lines and provides much needed comic relief. Unfortunately, there isn't enough of her.
Even though this review is long enough, imdb is requiring 600 characters now. What are we supposed to do? Describe every scene?
The movie is a remake of a highly regarded Noir thriller of the same name that better judgment suggests one investigate instead -- I was in this for John Phillip Law, so my disappointment is more on seeing his usually bizarre talents go so wasted. The story revolves around a fetching young woman played by Jaqueline Bisset who goes mute in the face of danger owing to a boringly typical childhood drama. There's a family matriarch who sleeps with a .38 under her pillow, a duplicitous doctor played by Christopher Plummer who may be the key to a series of murders of likewise handicapped but fetching young women, a scruffy amoral police detective who couldn't be more ineffective if he was trying to be, and a bunch of unlikeable types sitting around waiting for a rich elderly to die off so they can claim their piece of the pie.
In other words this is a Scooby-Doo type plot with a couple of murders thrown in to beef it up. The most effective element of the film is the sprawling, ornate mansion that the movie is mostly set within, which does become effectively creepy once the power goes out during an electrical storm with a killer prowling the grounds. Director Collinson composes some interesting shots looking out from under the furniture that sort of reminds one of hiding under stuff as a kid when frightened. There is an intriguing use of color and some imaginative camera angles, but those elements aren't what we watch stuff like this for.
As a made for TV movie (CBS) from the 1970s it's not bad, with a first rate cast, some interesting supporting players, a decent disappearing corpse sequence and a respectably staged lightning storm, but what of it? The movie apparently enjoyed a theatrical release overseas, mostly due to the strength of the names in the cast, and is a comparatively rare film not having found a re-release on DVD just yet, and probably never will. The problem is coming up with elements to recommend it for and other than another obscure, nutty, somewhat sinister John Phillip Law supporting role I can't come up with much. Jaqueline Bisset looks marvelous as usual and the unseen hero saving the day at the end was a pleasant surprise. As a whole however it's just not a very involving or absorbing story, well staged for the budget involved, but then again so is your basic trip to the bus station on YouTube.
So here's another "I don't know ..." kind of movie. If low budget made for TV horror is your bag this should definitely find it's way onto your schedule at some point and used VHS copies are relatively inexpensive & not difficult to acquire (just search for the title on Amazon: it's there in spite of what the IMDb's link box says). With a bag of popcorn on a rainy otherwise boring night it would probably come in handy, and for John Phillip Law devotees you should probably grab a copy now before they all fall to pieces.
4/10
Lo sapevi?
- QuizThird of four versions of "The Spiral Staircase." The first was La scala a chiocciola (1946), the second was The Spiral Staircase (1961), made for television, and the fourth was La scala a chiocciola (2000), also for television.
- BlooperTutte le opzioni contengono spoiler
- Citazioni
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.
- ConnessioniRemade as La scala a chiocciola (2000)
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Dettagli
- Tempo di esecuzione1 ora 29 minuti
- Mix di suoni
- Proporzioni
- 1.78 : 1