The People Under the Stairs (1991)

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Yes I see the Pulp Fiction stuff. Yes I see the Annihilator the bands cover so called Allison In Hell. It's a different kind of movie. Still just an average movie. 5 stars not above.

In desperate need of money to pay the rent, a teenager breaks into his landlord's home, only to discover it booby-trapped and full of 'prisoners' who live within the walls and under the floorboards in this darkly comic horror movie from the mind of Wes Craven. As others have noted, the film is structured as a fairy-tale with the young protagonist taking it upon himself to liberate the prisoners and foil the evil landlord and landlady so that the poor folks in his neighbourhood can survive, yet the film works best when Craven concentrates less on the story and more of the sheer strangeness of the situation. The narrative has quite a few gaps (most strikingly, why the landlord and landlady feed their prisoners, give them flashlights and let them survive) but the absolutely uncanny nature of the story keeps things afloat and this is one of few films equally as funny as it is scary. While much of the humour is very dark, give or take Everett McGill and Wendy Robie's deliberately accentuated performances, there is some highly amusing slapstick humour in the mix such a dog sliding out of the laundry chute like a kid on an amusement park ride! The architecture of the house is also a wonder to be hold with hidden passageways, rigged staircases and electric shock door handles. Whether the film has a lot to say as a satire is debatable, but the central concept works fairly well with the landlord and landlady literally driven insane by their greed and their greed finally reaching such an extent that it leads to their downfall. As mentioned, the film is a fairy-tale of sorts. Imagine 'Hansel and Gretel' meets 'Robin Hood' and you will have half an idea of what to expect, though nothing matches the experience of actually watching this bizarre little gem.

Perhaps one of Wes Craven's most masterful films, The People Under The Stairs is oddly entertaining ride of greed, sacrifice and humility. Craven is no stranger to doing something different in his work. He goes into a ghetto filled with poverty and miserable lower-class workers who are resorting to crime for money. The main characters (Brandon Quintin Adams and Ving Rhames) go to great lengths to rob the tenant of their apartment complex, who are not as they seem. The father figure, played by Everett McGill, is a stern ruthless man who dresses up in a creepy black leather suit when chasing the burglars. The mother, Wendy Robie, is a wicked woman who plays an abusive nasty parent to the children. The film's writing is smart and adds a valuable lesson pulling on heart strings and a possibility of bringing up political debate. The film does have its share of jump moments and fascinating scenes, it is surely worth a horror aficionado's time.

Spoiler Alert!!! I'll start by saying I really do adore Wes Craven's style of directing I mean it is fun, entertaining and really just overall enjoyable. This film we are treated to an African American boy you might recognize from the sandlot or the Moon Walker. He is a pretty unusual but cool main character who seems to have that main character cheat when it comes to times he actually wouldn't have survived. For instants he electrocutes himself to take out the dog, he almost gets himself killed by blowing up the last villain, and he almost gets shot, a lot by a man wearing a weird leather suit. The whole movie is pretty awesome and it makes you actually build sympathy for the characters. Wes Craven has done it again! 8 out of 10.