Just perfect...

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

I had first watched the 2000 TV remake of THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE and when I looked it up on IMDb I noticed that there were earlier films with the same title and plot.And so I first watched the original and fell in love with it... and then I moved on to this little gem from the 70's. I must say I really liked it A LOT! Jaqueline Bisset is stunning and the acting here is great. This is true 70's trash so bad its good film. I actually like this one over the original. The only performance I don't care for is the mother's here...in the original Ethel Barrymore played it so well! But still, this is good entertainment! Great way to pass the time!

The original The Spiral Staircase, made in 1945 in black and white by director Robert Siodmak, was one of the finest killer-on-the-loose-in-a-spooky-mansion films of all-time. This 1975 remake is a very poor attempt to update and remake the original. There is less tension this time around, as director Peter Collinson allows things to proceed at a sluggish pace. Even the performances are weaker, despite the fact that this film has a comparatively star-studded cast for its era.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!

Being of a nervous disposition I am not a fan of horror movies, but this was not what I would call a horror movie, although it was advertised as one. It is a slow moving thriller, with an obvious ending, and not very good acting, the only reason to watch the film is if you are enamoured with Jacqueline Bisset, (and it is not one of her better films).

Searching the video store, I saw the cover for this and remembered reading about it. I decided to give it a whirl, because there was nothing else catching my eye at the moment. Jaqueline Bissett plays Helen, a young mute, who is currently staying at the Sherman Institute. The rest of the people in the house are wary of the fact that women with disabilities are being murdered, and a blind woman was killed that day. That night, though, the killer has spotted Helen as his next victim. And with a thunderstorm threatening to kill the power, this killer starts eliminating those at the house, closing in closer and closer to Helen.Does that sound like a good movie? I don't know, I thought so. Well, I was wrong. It's very dull for the first three quarters, with characterization up the wazoo, and a couple of suspicious moments. And, supposedly, it's a mystery of who the killer is--but it's not!! The killer is way too obvious! I don't know if it was just because I knew the motive from reading about the original movie, or if movie was just really bad at concealing the killer's identity. And, this isn't a spoiler, because even the plot summary said it, the killer is Dr. Sherman. But, there are a few holes. First of all, why does the killer kill off people who aren't disabled at the house? Well, the killer's achievements at the house only rank up to two or three, but still, they're all perfectly "normal" people. And why does Steven drag Oates's body outside after he finds it in the foyer? Doesn't that mean that he's an accomplice in something? I don't know, that left me hanging for a while. Still, there are some good things. The last quarter of the movie is quite exciting, with Dr. Sherman chasing Helen around the house. And the movie utilizes her disability well, especially when trying to contact help over the phone. There was a lot of suspense in those scenes. Also, the characters are all quite likable. Mrs. Sherman was very entertaining as the witty mother of the doctor and Steven. And Mrs. Oates was just a very likable character, as the cook. And of course, Helen, played with all innocence and huge doe-eyes by Bissett. Overall, not a great movie, but the final quarter is quite interesting. I have yet to see the original version, though, and I have a feeling that might be better.