In today's episode, it is early horror with an unexpected feminist twist in 1946’s The Spiral Staircase, directed by Robert Siodmak. Set in 1906, the film follows Helen (Dorothy McGuire), a woman with traumatic mutism, who cares for Mrs. Warren (Ethel Barrymore), the difficult and bedridden lady of the manor. When a serial killer begins killing off women with so-called afflictions, Helen is warned that she may be next. Adapted from Ethel Lina White’s novel Some Must Watch (1933), the film takes up themes such as disability and masculinity while simultaneously challenging the notion that the modern slasher film began with Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960). We’re breaking it all down today with spoilers, so stay tuned.
--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/horror-homeroom/supportGothic Decay: Talking House of Usher (1960)
Born Bad?: Talking A Nightmare on Elm Street 1 & 3
Christmas Horror: Talking Better Watch Out (2016) and It's a Wonderful Knife (2023)
Sloths Gone Wild: Talking Slotherhouse (2023)
The Devil Inside: Talking The Exorcist (1973)
A Hand to Hold: Talking Talk to Me (2023)
Always Check Your Candy: Talking Trick 'r Treat
Flesh and Blood: Talking Deep Blue Sea (1999)
Blood in the Water: Talking Shark Night (2011) & The Shallows (2016)
Platformed Dread: Talking Influencer (2023)
A Disaster of a Movie: Talking Godzilla (1998)
Where are all the bodies?: Talking Barbarian (2022)
A Return to Nihilism: Talking Smile (2022)
But She's a Star!: Talking Pearl (2022)
A Divisive Slasher: Talking Sick (2022)
Time to Start Running: Talking Cirque Berzerk (2020)
Rewriting the Slasher: Talking They/Them (2022)
The Taboo of Aging: Talking "X" (2022)
The Other Bad Seed: Talking Alice, Sweet Alice (1976)
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