The Spiral Staircase (1975)

Directed by Peter Collinson. Starring Jacqueline Bisset, Christopher Plummer, Mildred Dunnock, Gayle Hunnicutt, John Phillip Law, Sam Wanamaker, Elaine Stritch. [R]

Dreadfully dull redo of Robert Siodmak’s 1940s pscyho-thriller. Traumatized by a fatal fire that claimed the lives of her husband and child, Bisset is a mute woman staying at her invalid grandmother’s house with several others, including her psychiatrist uncle (Plummer), and one of them is a killer targeting “imperfect” victims. A shortage of style and frights defeats this sluggish chiller. Not hard to guess the responsible party, not easy to stay awake. Final scene is laughable, so if you do stay conscious to the end, at least there’s that “prize” for you. Same story was also retold in separate TV movies released before and after this one.

35/100