The People Under The Stairs
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Movie Reviews of The People Under The Stairs
Movie Review: A Fool with someone else's gold may soon be dearly departed
Summary: 4 Stars
The People Under the Stairs was written and directed by Wes Craven, a fact which necessarily raised my expectations going in. It's a perfectly good horror film, but it just never really grabbed me by the throat. The plot definitely has a few holes in it, and the ending holds no real surprises. Beyond that, I expected a lot more blood and gore than I got, and even the heralded people under the stairs were not quite as bedraggled and horrific as I expected. Basically, this is the type of film I would recommend to newbies taking their baby steps into horror. It lets you dip your feet into the pool of gory goodness, but your full baptism will have to take place elsewhere.
The unlikely hero of the story is Fool (Brandon Quintin Adams) a thirteen-year-old boy who agrees to take part in a burglary - not because he wants to, but because his mother needs a cancer operation and his entire family is about to be evicted from its home. His sister's boyfriend has learned that the evil landlord has a collection of solid gold coins, and he talks Fool into helping him and his partner steal them. The plan falls apart pretty quickly, and it's not too long before Fool is trapped in the house alongside the violent landlord (Daddy) and his evil sister (Mommy), a killer dog, a gaggle of freaks in the cellar, and - fortunately for him - a mysteriously helpful teenaged girl. Escape seems impossible, as the whole house is designed to lock people in as well as out, and there are nifty little traps all over the place. The only safe haven is between the walls, but Fool's not alone there, as one of the scary "children" from the cellar travels these narrow spaces - nor is he truly safe, for Daddy isn't afraid to shoot up the whole house whenever he hears movement behind a wall.
Young Brandon Quintin Adams is likeable and effective as Fool, although he does more reacting than acting. Twin Peaks' Everett McGill and Wendy Robie play Daddy and Mommy; between his death fetish and penchant for donning a black cat suit and her 1940s Fraulein hairstyle, they look as if they might have just crawled out of Hitler's bunker. A. J. Langer fills the role of Alice, the innocent, abused daughter who has never been allowed outside the house. She's quite good here, as is Sean Whalen as Roach, our first real contact with the motley crew of tortured individuals living like animals beneath the stairs.
Craven supposedly got the idea for The People Under the Stairs after hearing a news report about some parents keeping their children locked up inside the house. That might lead you to think this is a pretty serious movie, but it isn't. There is almost a Home Alone feel to the action as Fool tries to outwit the psychotic Mommy and Daddy and find a way to escape. I wouldn't agree with those who describe the film as a dark comedy, but it was certainly less disturbing and, thanks to McGill and Robie, more over-the-top than I expected. I think it's also safe to say that the film doesn't offer much in the way of scares, either. Horror fans will be entertained by The People Under the Stairs, but I daresay few of them will be genuinely impressed by this Wes Craven effort.
Movie Review: Perfect Halloween Humour.
Summary: 3 Stars
I saw this film when I was very young thinking it was going to be scary. Dear zombie Jesus, was I wrong. I was shocked to find that it was the total opposite of what I had in mind. It was actually very funny and silly. It was an enjoyable film back when I was young and still is today. A lot of people find this film to be a joke and Wes Craven's worst film, which is OK with me.
If you haven't seen this film yet, give it a try. It might make you laugh with its over the top action and gore. A hidden rusty piece of metal in my opinion.
Movie Review: The People Under The Stairs
Summary: 5 Stars
Really really good movie. I love watchin this movie. Its pretty crazy at times, but also pretty funny, despite it being a horror movie. This kid "Fool" tries to find out whats really behind these two people that live in this house, and they own the hood that "Fool" lives in, and they dont give any money to the neighborhood. So "Fool" almost gets killed countless times while trying to figure out whats going on. I really reccomend this movie. Itll make you laugh trust me. Then there is a guy that lives in the house, that lives in the walls, he helps out "Fool" and the girl that lives in the house with the 2 people. I think this movie is definately worth the watch, if your debating about it, just rent it, but take my word.Movie Review: The People Under the Stairs (1991)
Summary: 3 Stars
Director: Wes Craven
Cast: Brandon Quintin Adams, Everett McGill, Wendy Robie, A.J. Langer, Ving Rhames, Sean Whalen, Bill Cobbs, Kelly Jo Minter, Jeremy Roberts.
Running Time: 102 minutes
Rated R for violence, language, and gore.
"The People Under the Stairs" is of the horror genre but is surprisingly funny. It is gory and bloody in the traditional Wes Craven sense but you will find a lot of this inexplicably humorous. It's almost a black comedy. The tale is about a young African-American boy named Fool (Brandon Quintin Adams) who, along with some unworthy role-models (including Ving Rhames), breaks into the wrong house. He and his hapless friends break into the house of the local psychos, an odd couple who are rumored to have millions of dollars along with a valuable coin collection stashed away in their large suburban house. However, the would-be-thieves find that their intended victims are a little bit more than merely eccentric and that to say they have one or two skeletons in their closet would be an understatement. The Fool and his friends choose the couple because they are the rich landlords over-pricing their families into the ghettos. However, the couple turns out to be completely insane and the young lads soon find themselves trapped in a suburban nightmare. The house is a giant height-tech, booby-trapped prison and "Mommy" and "Daddy" (Wendy Robie and Everett McGill) have been spending years kidnapping children and "cutting out the bits that were bad" and locking them in the cellar when the boys displeased them. Only two of the children have escaped this fate: their only "daughter", an angelic girl named Alice (A.J. Lander), deeply scarred by a lifetime locked in hell, and a tongue less escapee from the cellar called Roach (Sean Whalen), who moves about the house inside the walls pursued by his "Daddy", wearing a gimp-costume and brandishing a shot-gun and blowing holes in the walls.
Director Wes Craven ("A Nightmare on Elm Street", "Scream") turns an innocent-looking suburban household into a frightening maze filled with traps, tunnels and secret passages. Add to this an absolutely terrifying killer dog, which good ole' Ma and Pa have been rearing on human flesh, and you have a recipe for real suspense. "The People Under the Stairs" has that certain feeling to it that makes you want to see it again to know what it was that made you feel that way. The film has a certain charm to it that provides the viewer that those involved had a good time it the film. The two characters, McGill and Robie, give you the impression as such monsters that the real ones in the film, the kidnapped children, don't seem as threatening. For a youngster, Adams pulls off the incredible in that he gives a good performance. He has an innocence to him that shows off his apparent sinful nature of a sneak and thief. The house is also cleverly designed and is actually scarier than some haunted house movies. It has hidden booby traps; deadly secrets in its walls, and its dark, never ending corridors have a real spooky nature towards them. Craven also develops some suspense in the beginning with the strange noises coming from inside the walls. It comes before you know what they actually are, and then gives several big pay-offs at the end. It was also good seeing a younger Ving Rhames in this movie as Fool's father. This is one of the films where you have to develop a taste for. Like French food, it's good if you can actually develop a taste for it. It's not a film for everyone to enjoy. Craven fans should check this one out, as it demonstrates why he is the modern master of horror.
Movie Review: Craven Hits Rock Bottom
Summary: 1 Stars
There certain names in the film industry that just get hyped beyond reason, and sometimes I just don't understand why. Wes Craven is probably the perfect example of this. "A Nightmare On Elm Street" was lame and "The Last House On The Left" was weak and ridiculously poorly made. But "The People Under The Stairs" just took Craven to a new level of putrid, wretched tripe.
Now don't start rolling your eyes and saying "Oh god, another horror-hating elitist.", I am a huge fan of the genre. But Craven's films are just plain awful, especially this one.
The story is about a young African-American boy who lives in the ghetto with his large family and ill mother. They have insurmountable money problems and their apartment is being foreclosed on by greedy landlords who want to tear it down and erect an office building. The boy's older sister has a thieving, jive-talking boyfriend who tells the boy that he knows where the landlords live and that they have a stock-pile of a golden coins that will solve all of their money problems several times over. But what makes the boy nervous is the fact that the landlords are the people everyone in the neighborhood considers crazy, and their house is the one children cross the street to stay away from. Once inside, the boy encounters unspeakable horrors as the psychotic landlords try to track him down and keep him away from their sheltered, untouched daughter.
The film is bursting at the seams with racial stereotypes, horror clich?s, poor acting, atrocious writing, and every form of inane stupidity you can imagine. The overly cheap score doesn't really help either.
If you're looking to get into horror films, stay hell the away from Wes Craven and stick to someone who knows what they're doing, like George A. Romero or Lucio Fulci. If you're looking for a fun adventure film, check out something like "The Goonies" or "Raiders of the Lost Ark". Just make sure you avoid this heap of garbage at all costs.
.5/10