The Spiral Staircase

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.

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!

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

Nicolette Sherdian is breathtakingly gorgeous in this taut thriller based on the classic film. This movie has more twists and turns than the roads in Monte Carlo. The constant state of tension is at times almost unbearable. Judd nelson gives the performance of his career, surpassing even his work in St. Elmo's Fire. I anxiously anticipate this superb work of art's release on DVD, hopefully a collector's edition.

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.