If nothing else director Wes Craven always seems to bring to
the table something interesting that we have never seen before. With each movie
he’s made over the years he’s always made something unique when it came to
horror films. Having done movies like THE HILLS HAVE EYES, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM
STREET, THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW and then SHOCKER, fans of Craven in 1991
were waiting to see what he would come up with next. They weren’t disappointed
when he released THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS.
Youngster Fool (Brandon Adams) is a kid with far too many
problems for someone his age. His mother is ill with cancer, his sister may be
working the streets to keep them alive and the owners of the building he lives
in want to evict him and his family no matter what their problems are. Then his
sister’s friend Leroy (Ving Rhames) offers him an out. Leroy tells him that the
owners of the apartment building are wealthy and he plans on burglarizing their
home. He just needs someone Fool’s size to help.
Leroy, his friend Spenser and Fool scope out the house to
see about getting in. Fool poses as a Boy Scout raising money but the owner of
the house (credited as “woman” with Wendy Robie in the role) tells him to go
away. Spenser then poses as a gas company inspector who worms his way into the
house only to not come out again. When Leroy and Fool see the owner drive away
in her car they break into the house.
All does not go well as they are first set upon by a guard
dog. Once they get past that and start checking out the house in search of
hidden gold coins Leroy has heard of, they start to find out this house is not
what it appears to be from the outside. The windows are barred from the inside
to start with. The front door has a doorknob that is electrically charged. And
within the walls of the basement there are people, if that’s what you can call
them, living in the darkness. Fool finds them along with the body of Spenser
just as the owners return home.
Leroy is soon down for the count as the two owners (woman
now accompanied by man played by Everett McGill) start to track down Fool.
Earlier we were witness to them dealing with their “daughter” (A.J. Langer), a
young girl frightened of doing the wrong thing that would set them off on her.
Now she tries to help fool along with her friend Roach (Sean Whalen), one of
the people under the stairs who escaped and who man has been trying to catch
and kill for some time now.
As man tries to track down Fool and Roach things become
apparent that this is no ordinary house. Trap doors, secret passages within the
walls, hidden closets where man changes into an S&M leather suit to wear
while searching for them with his shotgun all help to increase the creepy factor
on screen. Just who these people are and what they’ve been doing isn’t
completely revealed until the end of the film. Does the treasure actually
exist? Are these people really as evil as they appear? And what about the
people under the stairs? All is revealed before the credits roll.
This may not be the greatest film that Craven ever made but
it did offer some scary moments, some skin crawling sequences and a different
take on what could have been more of a haunted house type film. Instead he
presents something completely different than what we’ve been exposed to before
and that is always an exciting thing to see in a horror film. All aspects of
movie making are on well done display, from set decorating to make up to
acting. No one shines brighter than the rest but McGill and Robie, having just
come off of TWIN PEAKS as a married couple there as well, have some of the
scariest and funniest lines in the film.
As is always the case with Shout/Scream Factory releases
this is probably the best version of this blu-ray release that we will ever
see. Not only are we presented with a crystal clear picture presentation the
extras are formidable for a movie that’s this old. Audio commentary from
Craven, another from stars Brandon Adams, A.J. Langer, Sean Whalen and Yan Birch,
an interview with Wendy Robie, interviews with Greg Nicotero, Howard Berger and
Robert Kurtzman of KNB Effects (this was one of their early projects), an
interview with director of photography Sandi Sissel, an interview with composer
Don Peake, behind the scenes footage and of course the theatrical trailer. Just
getting through the extras will take some time and all are well done and
interesting, especially the KNB portion.
If you’ve never seen the movie then you can’t call yourself
a horror fan. If you saw it once and remembered it then you’ll want to see it
again. If you’re a die-hard horror of Craven fan then you’ll want to clear a
spot on your shelf for this release. And if you’re just in the mood to watch
something that is both creepy and scary then give this one a watch. You won’t
be disappointed.
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