[.ca] People Under The Stairs

Funny little movie:
Watched this movie a couple of months ago and it seems far more scarier on the cover than it actually is. That was a little disappointing but being interested in mythology, it was fairly obvious from the start that the writers had some knowledge of the hero archetype. They even named the main character "Fool", a young kid on a mission to rescue a damsel in distress imprisoned in a house. Traversing the labyrinth of secret hallways and chambers, he succeeds in freeing her, defeats the abusive bad guys and gets the girl and the gold at the end! It wraps up nicely, but not something you'd want to watch for a good scare.

Totally Underated....Awesome movie....weak dvd though!:
Wes Cravens, "people under the stairs," deff never got the respect it derserved. Its a sick and twisted movie..Shall we begin? A brother and sister own a funeral home, pretending to be a couple they steal a girl claiming her to be the daughter. Meanwhile, they have other kidnapped people living in the basement. Finally a young boy steps up and tries to fight the sick family and help thier so called "daughter." you have to see the rest for yourself its a sick and cool movie. My only problem with this movie is the extras, wes craven did absolutley nothing with the dvd. No commentary, no deleted scenes, not even a trailer!!! At least they did get to release it on dvd, but horror fans can't get everything they want now can they? Anyway its still a must buy!

A Fool with someone else's gold may soon be dearly departed:
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.

Typical pre-Scream Craven horror:
Taking a cue to his early grittier works in Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes, horror maestro Wes Craven helmed this interesting horror flick in which a young boy becomes trapped in a house with a cannibal couple that has a ghoulish secret. The People Under the Stairs has it's share of social commentary and some true early Craven wickedness, and as a whole the film works as one of Craven's better horror ventures. The DVD release is disappointing as usual however; this is one of Universal's recent horror DVD releases which include no extras, not even a trailer. A commentary by Craven or a documentary would have been more than welcome, but alas, there is nothing here in terms of extras.

A Poor Effort by a Horror Master:
"Fool," (Brandon Adams) as he's known by his friends, isn't exactly living "the good life" with his ill mother who can't pay the rent. When one of the family friends decides to pull off a Robin Hood stunt, stealing from a local wealthy family to give to the poor (namely themselves), Fool sees this as a quick solution to his family's problems. However, Fool and his friends find that this is by no means an "ordinary" family, and succeeding in their task will be more difficult than they had imagined. This family has a dark secret that they have kept for quite some time now. They have a hungry horde of cannibalistic boys locked in their basement, strange torture and security devices throughout the house, and an evil man-eating dog patrolling the house. The twisted wealthy owners of the house (Everett McGill and Wendy Robie) lock Fool in their home and are out for blood. Fool must trust one girl, Alice (A.J. Langer), living in the house, in addition to one of these ill-treated boys in order to attempt his escape. This was a seemingly interesting premise that was executed poorly. The plot was severely lacking, and the poor acting certainly didn't help. The odd couple housing the boys in their basement become particularly irritating. I understand that some of their actions were meant to be seen as humorous (...), but it wasn't pulled off very well. All characters, with the one exception of Fool, were severely under-developed. In addition, much of this film was extremely cliche. For example, the wealthy couple who owns the home is approached by the police one night. When they bring out hors deouvres and drinks for their interrogators, all seems forgotten and the police indulge themselves and then leave. How could this nice, polite, high-society couple be involved in anything questionable? Furthermore, why exactly these people have boys living under their stairs is never fully explained, they are merely there. Buy this movie only if you are a huge Wes Craven fan, but otherwise leave it for a lonesome Friday night rental. I have always been one to enjoy a great horror film, but this is definitely not one of them.