The Killers made me discover the work of Robert Siodmak; The Devil Strikes At Night straightened my love for it. The Spiral Staircase continues my fascination with the work of a director who today is barely known and yet was a master.
The Spiral Staircase, made in the same year as The Killers, should be studied in film school as perfect example of how to create a haunting, oppressive atmosphere in horror movies.
The movie's heroine is Helen, a mute maid who works for Mrs. Warren, an invalid rich woman. In the town they live in, a serial killer (this is in the early years of the 20th century), is killing 'imperfect' women. As the movie begins, Helen is watching a silent movie as the killer, upstairs, kills a woman with a limp. Helen returns to Mrs. Warren's mansion in fear, and we the audience can see she's being followed.
Once she enters the house, it becomes obvious the killer is inside too. And slowly we wait, in pure torment, for the eventual confrontation, for that moment when the two come together. It's even more fascinating because slowly the house becomes emptier as people leave for this and that reason, meaning that Helen will soon be helplessly alone with the killer. It's one of the most suspenseful build ups I've ever seen in a movie.
Sadly the movie is not perfect; what happens from the moment she arrives at the mansion to the moment the killer is revealed is filled with smaller moments of tension, but also with some contrived scenes and some sloppy storytelling. For one thing, it's pretty obvious who the killer is. Secondly, there's some bad dialogue in the movie.
But the way Siodmak creates tension and atmosphere is perfect. The mansion itself is an amazing set, with its corners, its staircases, and its mirrors with their creepy reflections. There's a trip down the cellar that is frightening thanks to the way the cellar is designed, full of shadows, cluttered with stuff, with strange sounds.
Then there is Nicholas Musuraca's cinematography. There's an effect that I love in this movie: in a very dark room, suddenly the screen lights up. It's used a few times and with a good effect too.
Dorothy McGuire gives an excellent performance with just one line of dialogue. Playing the mute Helen, she manages to express herself just with her bright, wide-eyed eyes. Her eyes full of fear are especially amazing. Although only Ethel Barrymore was nominated for an Oscar in this movie, for me McGuire gave a career-defining performance here.
Although this movie lacks the clarity of narrative that Siodmak's other movies have, this is nevertheless a fascinating movie. It's not a poor man's Alfred Hitchcock movie, although the Master's influence is undeniable. In fact one can see the beginning of many trends in this movie: the killer wearing black gloves, the close-ups of the killer's eyes as he's watching his victims; the shot of the killer hidden in the shadows - all iconic images that have entered the language of horror cinema. For its historical importance to the genre, The Spiral Staircase deserves to be remembered.
The Spiral Staircase, made in the same year as The Killers, should be studied in film school as perfect example of how to create a haunting, oppressive atmosphere in horror movies.
The movie's heroine is Helen, a mute maid who works for Mrs. Warren, an invalid rich woman. In the town they live in, a serial killer (this is in the early years of the 20th century), is killing 'imperfect' women. As the movie begins, Helen is watching a silent movie as the killer, upstairs, kills a woman with a limp. Helen returns to Mrs. Warren's mansion in fear, and we the audience can see she's being followed.
Once she enters the house, it becomes obvious the killer is inside too. And slowly we wait, in pure torment, for the eventual confrontation, for that moment when the two come together. It's even more fascinating because slowly the house becomes emptier as people leave for this and that reason, meaning that Helen will soon be helplessly alone with the killer. It's one of the most suspenseful build ups I've ever seen in a movie.
Sadly the movie is not perfect; what happens from the moment she arrives at the mansion to the moment the killer is revealed is filled with smaller moments of tension, but also with some contrived scenes and some sloppy storytelling. For one thing, it's pretty obvious who the killer is. Secondly, there's some bad dialogue in the movie.
But the way Siodmak creates tension and atmosphere is perfect. The mansion itself is an amazing set, with its corners, its staircases, and its mirrors with their creepy reflections. There's a trip down the cellar that is frightening thanks to the way the cellar is designed, full of shadows, cluttered with stuff, with strange sounds.
Then there is Nicholas Musuraca's cinematography. There's an effect that I love in this movie: in a very dark room, suddenly the screen lights up. It's used a few times and with a good effect too.
Dorothy McGuire gives an excellent performance with just one line of dialogue. Playing the mute Helen, she manages to express herself just with her bright, wide-eyed eyes. Her eyes full of fear are especially amazing. Although only Ethel Barrymore was nominated for an Oscar in this movie, for me McGuire gave a career-defining performance here.
Although this movie lacks the clarity of narrative that Siodmak's other movies have, this is nevertheless a fascinating movie. It's not a poor man's Alfred Hitchcock movie, although the Master's influence is undeniable. In fact one can see the beginning of many trends in this movie: the killer wearing black gloves, the close-ups of the killer's eyes as he's watching his victims; the shot of the killer hidden in the shadows - all iconic images that have entered the language of horror cinema. For its historical importance to the genre, The Spiral Staircase deserves to be remembered.