The Spiral Staircase
The Spiral Staircase
In 1916, a shadowy serial killer is targeting women with "afflictions"; one night during a thunderstorm, the mute Helen feels menaced.
Kevin Ward reviewedJuly 2, 2025
A 1940’s whodunnit with some pre-giallo slasher vibes. I love the camera work and staging of older films. Some of the shots and angles are so creative. It is the 40’s though so this film is devoid of any depictions of violence or blood. All of the kills happen off-screen or completely obscured within the frame. Also, with the killer apparently preying in women with “afflictions” of some sort, we get some very dated attitudes about women, medicine, et al, but nothing a little nip of Brandy won’t help you to overlook. I actually really liked the killer reveal, because I had not actually pieced everything together by that point. Really enjoyable.