The People Under the Stairs
Director: Wes Craven
Cast: Brandon Quintin Adams, Everett McGill, Wendy Robie, Ving Rhames
Reviewed by Brian M. Sammons
Wes Craven is considered a master of horror, and rightfully so, as he has made some of the most memorable fright flicks to ever grace the silver screen. That is undeniable, but so is the fact that not everything he directed was golden. Some were so bad they’re good, like Deadly Friend, some were just bad, like Curse, and some were just strange, like this movie, The People Under the Stairs. While not as classic as his A Nightmare on Elm Street or Scream, it has nonetheless developed a cult following. Is this early 90s movie worth its cult status or does it just skate by on the name of the man who created it? Well Scream Factory has just brought this film out on Blu-ray, so let’s find out.
A young, poor boy name Fool from the ghetto with a sick mother teams up with two burglars, one played by the usually entertaining Ving Rhames, to break into their slumlords’ home in search of gold coins. Instead they find a bizarre, incestuous brother/sister/husband/wife combo with a mean doggie, a better-be-perfect-or-else daughter, and a whole basement (under the stairs) full of strange, mute, albino things. To make matters worse, the house of the creepy brother-sister slumlords is a prison that once engaged is almost impossible to escape. Well when Fool goes in, the prison door is shut, and pretty much the rest of the movie is him trying to stay one step ahead of the murderous duo by crawling through the walls and yes, even going under the stairs.
The best thing about this movie is its weirdness. Stuff just happen here that make you go “huh?” and the characters are gloriously over the top. In TPUtS, things are more often played for laughs rather than scares. Sure, there are a few creepy moments to be had, and some good old violence as well, but if you are looking for a straight up horror movie then you might be disappointed.
On to the extras and special features on this new Blu-ray release. There are two commentary tracks here. The first is with writer/director Wes Craven and the other is with some of the cast: Brandon Adams, A.J. Langer, Sean Whalen, and Yan Burch. There is an interview with the psychotic mother/sister of the movie, Wendy Robie, that’s nearly 20 minutes long; one with director of photography Sandi Sissel that’s 16 minutes; and another with the composer Don Peake that’s 10 minutes. There is a combo interview with FX wizards Howard Berger, Robert Kurtzman, Greg Nicotero, the founders of the awesome KNB Effects, about the special effects from the movie for a 15 minute featurette. There is a collection of behind-the-scenes footage that’s over 6 minutes, a vintage making of featurette from the 90s that’s over three minutes long, a theatrical trailer, storyboards, still gallery, and TV spots.
So is The People Under the Stairs a good movie? Well honestly, I’d have to say no. It is too uneven for that, often way over the top, and doesn’t know what kind of movie it wants to be. But it is fun movie. It’s a big, goofy, joyride of a flick and I always get some chuckles when watching it. If you like your horror movies more funny than frightening, you’ll get more out of this film, so consider it recommended.
