Coventry Review of The People Under the Stairs

The People Under the Stairs (1991)

S&M Nightmare in the Last House on Ghetto Street.

[6/10 · 23 January 2007]

Although a pretty long way from being perfect, "The People Under the Stairs" is definitely one of Wes Craven's best accomplishments, mainly thanks to a couple of really inventive ideas and original gimmicks. Craven's concept oddly works as some kind of adult fairy-tale in which a heroic youngster from a poor ghetto neighborhood battles against the evil (step-) parents, and at stake is the liberation of abused children and – of course – a treasure of extremely valuable golden coins. One day before his family's eviction by the malicious landlords, young Fool agrees to assist a duo of burglars when they break into their reputedly cursed mansion. Entering is easy enough, but Leroy, Spencer and young Fool are soon trapped in a macabre place full of death traps where the demented owners hide more than just one dark secret. Mommy is an atypical religion-freak, daddy enjoys wearing S&M outfits whilst blowing holes in the walls with a shotgun and aggressive pet-Rottweilers aim straight for the throat! Pretty soon Fool loses his companions and teams up with the repressed, locked away daughter and a strange being that lives between the walls. Where to begin with his lacking but overall satisfying horror/action adventure? The appealing title, for starters, is very misleading as it suggests that danger especially lurks in the basement. There are indeed people under the stairs, but they're the last persons young Fool should be afraid of, since they're just victims as well. Mom & dad initially form a mysterious and genuinely petrifying pair of villains, but as soon as their background is revealed, the film gets all the more silly and comical instead of scary. There's plenty of exciting action and violence, as the grim mansion turns out to be deadly labyrinth with secret doors and passages even in the kitchen cupboards. The amount of gory effects and on screen slaughter is rather low, and this in combination with the youthful stars leads to believe Wes Craven somehow intended to create a child-friendly horror film. Kids who loved the sight of naughty men getting kicked in the crotch or assaulted with bricks like in "Home Alone" will certainly like the action in "The People under the Stairs". The last twenty minutes, after when Fool escaped the wrath of mum & dad but returns to help his new friends, is dire and contains no more memorable moments. Brandon Adams is a likable child actor, which is quite an accomplishment to itself, but the true stars naturally are the deranged villains. Wendy Robie and Everett McGill can go over the top as much as they please, it only improves the film. As stated above, this is one of the best films in Wes Craven's uneven career as a director. He started out magnificently in the 70's, with true classics on his repertoire like "Last House on the Left" and "The Hills have Eyes". His early 80's efforts are still very good as well, with "Nightmare on Elm Street" and the sadly underrated "Deadly Blessing", but near the second half of the decade, Craven started to deliver lackluster and unsatisfying horror stuff like "Deadly Friend", "Shocker" and "Serpent & the Rainbow". "The People Under The Stairs" was his last worthwhile film before going mainstream with nonsense like "Scream", "Vampire in Brooklyn" and "Cursed".