Wednesday, November 19, 2008

The Spiral Staircase

Monday, November 17, 2008

I'm guessing that Bava, Argento and maybe some of the other giallo-ists were fans of this film. It's got a killer in a coat and black gloves hiding in the shadows, killing young women, in a murder mystery plot etc etc, just like a giallo. Thing is, it's a black and white American movie from the 1940's.

There's even a shot of the killer's eye, as he hides in a closet, that's nearly identical to a shot in Deep Red. Good shit. The seeming influence it's had on giallos is enough for me to dig on this one, but it's also pretty good all around, especially the visual style. Ahead of it's time, perhaps.

No comments: