Nestled in the idyllic countryside of Vermont stands a beautiful manor – inside are a blend of wealthy residents, a few companions and a couple of members of staff, all of whom go about their daily routine without too much hassle. This is until they slowly start to fall victim to a mysterious killer who seems to be lurking within the darkened corners of this sprawling mansion, selecting their next victims and patiently waiting for the next moment to strike – and at the very centre is a mute young woman who is simultaneously the most vulnerable of them all, and the person who holds the key to actually uncovering the secrets behind this terror. Based on this premise, you’d think we would be describing the plot to a recent work of slasher horror, when in reality this is the starting point for The Spiral Staircase, a film made nearly eighty years ago, and which is widely viewed as being the first official foray into the genre, an early attempt to take the simple concept of a group of people constricted to a particular space as they are slowly targeted by an unseen killer, whose identity and motives remain a mystery. Written by Mel Dinelli (based on the novel Some Must Watch by Ethel Lina White) and brought to life by Robert Siodmak, one of the great filmmakers of his generation whose skillful attention to detail was matched by his extraordinary versatility, all of which formed the foundation for quite an enigmatic body of work that touched on every conceivable genre throughout his prolific career, and which makes The Spiral Staircase an unexpectedly well-crafted, complex work that is as engaging as it is provocative, an early work in which genres are blurred to muddy the conceptual waters and present the audience with something truly unexpected and enthralling.

While there was certainly not a shortage of bold, experimental works produced during the Golden Age of Hollywood, it was also a simpler time in which films were able to explore core themes without needing to present themselves as wholeheartedly original. Yet, there was always something enticing about a film that presents itself as being much more simple than it is in practice – and this is precisely where The Spiral Staircase proves to be such a wholeheartedly delightful work, since it never makes its intentions entirely clear until the very end, when the thematic content is revealed and we learn the reality about these characters and what they represent. At its core, the film is a brutal deconstruction of the class system – three very clear social strata persist throughout this film, defined by its various characters. There’s the elite and wealthy owners of this manor and their friends that weave in and out of their home at the top, and the dedicated and hardworking staff that exist at the bottom, with various other character making up the central portion, the relationships between them all being the core of the film and the primary reason it is such a wholeheartedly successful and outright daring work. What starts as a traditional upstairs-downstairs drama eventually devolves into something much darker and more insidious, with the stark commentary infused into every frame making it quite clear that there is something much darker simmering beneath the surface. Perhaps it doesn’t entirely encompass the full scope of its ideas – there were still far too many loose ends that needed to be resolved by the end – but from a purely objective perspective, there is something deeply disquieting about the ideas that the director brings to the forefront throughout this film, which proves to a far more engaging work than we’d initially expect based on a glance.

Every genre has to begin somewhere – it’s not often the canonical texts that tend to be the pioneers of a particular style (since they’re usually credited with popularising certain concepts), but usually those that came about much earlier in the history of cinema. The Spiral Staircase is often considered the first slasher film, or at least the most recognisable example of the genre, which had yet to even approach its infancy when this deranged narrative was conceived. Much of the brilliance is found in the execution – Siodmak was a fantastic visual stylist, and his approach to crafting a film through a blend of images and sounds was one of the many reasons he has remained so celebrated, even amongst those who believe he was nothing more than a director-for-hire rather than someone with his authorial vision. However, what truly makes this film interesting is not what we see or hear, but rather those that we don’t – the idea of something lurking in the shadows, out of sight and earshot, but whose presence we can still feel. Every horror film is unique in its way, and there are more sub-genres than anyone can count – but one common element that is shared between them all is the fear of what is lurking in the shadows. This film draws on this inherent anxiety with such incredible precision and complexity, it seems unfathomable that it took several decades before more filmmakers realised the merits of the plot structure that would eventually form the foundation for the slasher genre. The Spiral Staircase uses gothic horror, film noir and melodrama as its foundation, rewiring their basic components to create this unsettling and provocative film, and Siodmak’s striking images (which he created in conjunction with Nicholas Musuraca, whose cinematography skills were nothing if not astonishing) only emphasise the lingering brilliance that defines this film and makes it so memorable.

The Spiral Staircase is an ensemble effort, and we find that Siodmak assembles quite an impressive cast to take on the challenge of bringing these ideas to life. There isn’t a particularly standout, since everyone is doing exceptional and engaging work that indicates not only a careful attention to detail when it came to creating these characters, but also their fervent dedication to these complex characters. Dorothy Maguire is the de facto lead and manages to capture our attention through the simple act of using her expressions and movements to define this character. She is mute for the majority of the film, which seems quite counterintuitive to a story that is so heavily driven by dialogue, but it’s in her silence that we find Maguire standing out the most, her poignant and complex performance being a highlight. Veterans like Ethel Barrymore, Erville Alderson and Elsa Lanchester add some gravitas, while the likes of George Brent, Kent Smith and Gordon Oliver (former leading men who have mostly been lost to time as a result of never quite breaking through as stars in their own right) anchor the film as morally ambiguous but wildly fascinating supporting players that have a much more important role in the narrative than we initially expected. It’s a tremendous cast, and everyone is doing terrific work, coming together to realise the director’s vision, honouring not only the source material but offering a very unique approach to a couple of genres that were decidedly not viewed as particularly glamorous at the time, but still proved to be exceptionally entertaining and wholeheartedly engaging.

The Spiral Staircase may not be a major work in the traditional sense, but it does hold its place in film history. It’s neither the scariest horror film, nor the most thrilling film noir, but still proves to be extremely essential for several reasons, primarily in how it provides evidence that a film does not need to take only a one-dimensional approach when it comes to genre, and that it can feasibly offer a range of ideas, each one developing on the other in creative and unconventional ways, forming entirely new styles of storytelling that were still revolutionary and unique at the time. Siodmak is a very important filmmaker, and those who may not be aware of this could benefit from engaging with his work and looking at his masterful control of the craft he helped define during this period. The exceptional performances, daring approach to the subject matter and stunning artistry add many layers of complexity to an already challenging film, albeit one that is never too impenetrable to be considered effective. It’s a tremendously engaging and enthralling work, a forerunner of a sub-genre that would become the bread-and-butter of horror in only a few decades, and which is never anything other than wholeheartedly entertaining and invigorating, a clear sign of a masterful blend of ideas and execution that keeps us interested and invested, and proves that simplicity can sometimes be the gateway to extraordinary artistic innovation, even when it was not intended to become a pioneer of an entire genre.