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Poster for The Spiral Staircase

The Spiral Staircase

1946 · 83 min

A slow-building, shadowy suspense that keeps you tense and uneasy, with gothic atmosphere and a chilling undercurrent.

Tagline
Conflicts that freeze your emotions! Suspense that takes your breath!
Overview
On a stormy night, the mute servant to an ailing matriarch is stalked by a serial killer.

Search YouTube for the trailer

Stream in the UK
  • Bloodstream
More options Data from JustWatch
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • darkstrength 3 of 3
  • tensestrength 3 of 3
  • eeriestrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • isolation
  • trauma
  • madness
  • deception
  • survival
Places
  • single country house
  • small town
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • twist ending
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence strong
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action3
Horror7
Humour2
Realism6
Romance3
Tension9
Darkness8
Complexity6
Emotional weight7

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Where to watch in the UK

Stream
  • Bloodstream
Free
  • Plex
  • Bloodstream

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
horror, mystery, thriller, drama
Directed by
Robert Siodmak
Written by
Mel Dinelli
Starring
Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, Ethel Barrymore, Kent Smith, Rhonda Fleming, Gordon Oliver, Elsa Lanchester, Sara Allgood
Music
Roy Webb
Cinematography
Nicholas Musuraca
Runtime
83 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
English

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