🎃💀Hooptober 2020: Film 8/67💀🎃

Sometimes called "The Best Film Hitchcock Never Made," The Spiral Staircase was a great little discovery. One of the most surprising aspects of it is that it was made by the same director in the same year even as The Killers, a film that's been firmly in my Top 20 for awhile now.

While both contain gorgeous black & white cinematography, much of the beauty here, courtesy of DP Nicholas Musuraca, comes from the opulent set design of the mansion that the majority of the story takes place in. Every frame brings the Victorian setting to life, wallpapers filled with ornamental design, bedposts and molding reflecting all the beams of light creating some beautiful textures.

Along with the decadence, The Spiral Staircase also contains some pretty creepy imagery, especially several shots of a giant eyeball reflecting the actions of a character before they become a victim.

The story itself was very basic although I did appreciate some unexpected twists toward the end.

As great as all of the actors were, nobody could beat Carlton the Bulldog. He's the real MVP and probably would've solved the mystery eventually.