Movies Like The Spiral Staircase (1946)

The Spiral Staircase is a 1946 horror, mystery, thriller film from Robert Siodmak with a MovieMagicScore of 7.0/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with The Old Dark House and Homicidal.

Horror Mystery Thriller

The Old Dark House

1932

In a remote region of Wales, five travelers beset by a relentless storm find shelter in an old mansion.

6.7

MagicScore

Homicidal

1961

A woman named Emily checks into a hotel and offers the bellboy $2000 to temporarily marry her. We soon find out Emily is the caretaker of a wheelchair-bound mute named Helga, who was the childhood guardian of a pair of siblings: Miriam Webster and her half-brother, Warren, who is about to inherit the estate of their late father. Who is the mysterious Emily and what are her intentions?

6.4

MagicScore

Peeping Tom

1960

Loner Mark Lewis works at a film studio during the day and, at night, takes racy photographs of women. Also he's making a documentary on fear, which involves recording the reactions of victims as he murders them. He befriends Helen, the daughter of the family living in the apartment below his, and he tells her vaguely about the movie he is making.

7.4

MagicScore

The Town That Dreaded Sundown

1976

When two young lovers are savagely beaten and tortured on a back country road in Texarkana, local police are baffled and must find "the Phantom Killer" before he can kill again.

5.8

MagicScore

The Uninvited

1944

A brother and sister move into an old seaside house that has been abandoned for many years on the Cornwellian coast. They soon discover that it is haunted by the ghost of the mother of their neighbor's granddaughter, with whom the brother has fallen in love.

6.9

MagicScore

Pieces

1982

A frustrated Boston detective searches for the maniac responsible for mutilating a number of university coeds.

5.9

MagicScore

The Lodger

1944

In Victorian era London, the inhabitants of a family home with rented rooms upstairs fear the new lodger is Jack the Ripper.

6.4

MagicScore

The Unnaturals

1969

During a thunderstorm, a group of members of London's high society seek refuge in a remote mansion in the countryside. They are received by Uriat and his mother, who appears to be able to communicate with the dead. The guests engage in a séance, but it will reveal each and everyone's darkest secrets.

6.0

MagicScore

Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer

2003

British documentarian Nick Broomfield creates a follow-up piece to his 1992 documentary of the serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a highway prostitute who was convicted of killing six men in Florida between 1989 and 1990. Interviewing an increasingly mentally unstable Wuornos, Broomfield captures the distorted mind of a murderer whom the state of Florida deems of sound mind -- and therefore fit to execute. Throughout the film, Broomfield includes footage of his testimony at Wuornos' trial.

6.7

MagicScore

#10

Vares: The Girls of April

2011

Tough Finnish detective Jussi Vares gets hired by a friend at a newspaper to investigate a 15 year old mystery regarding the disappearance of 3 girls.

5.3

MagicScore

#11

The Killing of America

1981

A documentary of the decline of America. Featuring footage (most exclusive to this film) from race riots to serial killers and much, much more.

7.2

MagicScore

#12

Possession

1981

A young woman left her family for an unspecified reason. The husband determines to find out the truth and starts following his wife. At first, he suspects that a man is involved. But gradually, he finds out more and more strange behaviors and bizarre incidents that indicate something more than a possessed love affair.

7.3

MagicScore

#13

The Devil All the Time

2020

In Knockemstiff, Ohio and its neighboring backwoods, sinister characters converge around young Arvin Russell as he fights the evil forces that threaten him and his family.

7.2

MagicScore

#14

The Haunting

1999

Dr. David Marrow invites three distinct individuals to the eerie and isolated Hill House to be subjects for a sleep disorder study. The unfortunate guests discover that Marrow is far more interested in the sinister mansion itself — and they soon see the true nature of its horror.

5.5

MagicScore

#15

Psycho

1960

When larcenous real estate clerk Marion Crane goes on the lam with a wad of cash and hopes of starting a new life, she ends up at the notorious Bates Motel, where manager Norman Bates cares for his housebound mother.

8.4

MagicScore

#16

The 'Burbs

1989

When secretive new neighbors move in next door, suburbanite Ray Peterson and his friends let their paranoia get the best of them as they start to suspect the newcomers of evildoings and commence an investigation. But it's hardly how Ray, who much prefers drinking beer, reading his newspaper and watching a ball game on the tube expected to spend his vacation.

6.8

MagicScore

#17

Valentine

2001

Four friends start to receive morbid Valentine cards and realise they are being stalked by someone they had spurned 13 years ago. A masked killer is on the loose and Valentine's day is soon approaching.

5.5

MagicScore

#18

A Bay of Blood

1971

An elderly heiress is killed by her husband who wants control of her fortunes. What ensues is an all-out murder spree as relatives and friends attempt to reduce the inheritance playing field, complicated by some teenagers who decide to camp out in a dilapidated building on the estate.

6.6

MagicScore

#19

Horror Express

1972

Mysterious and unearthly deaths start to occur while Professor Saxton is transporting the frozen remains of a primitive humanoid creature he found in Manchuria back to Europe.

6.3

MagicScore

#20

Misery

1990

After an accident, acclaimed novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued by a nurse who claims to be his biggest fan. Her obsession takes a dark turn when she holds him captive in her remote Colorado home and forces him to write back to life the popular literary character he killed off.

7.7

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Spiral Staircase?

The top films similar to The Spiral Staircase by MovieMagicScore are The Old Dark House (6.7), Homicidal (6.4), Peeping Tom (7.4). Each shares horror/mystery/thriller themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Spiral Staircase worth watching?

The Spiral Staircase holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.0/10 from 260 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is The Spiral Staircase?

The Spiral Staircase (1946) is a horror, mystery, thriller film directed by Robert Siodmak, starring Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, Ethel Barrymore.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Spiral Staircase?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more horror recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like The Old Dark House Movies like Homicidal Movies like Peeping Tom Movies like The Town That Dreaded Sundown Movies like The Uninvited Movies like Pieces

About movies like The Spiral Staircase

This ranked list pairs The Spiral Staircase (1946), a horror and mystery and thriller film from Robert Siodmak, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Dorothy McGuire take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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