The People Under the Stairs

Wes Craven's the People Under the Stairs is a classic horror flick from one of the masters. It's horror, with a touch of humour added, making it all the more entertaining. It's not a serious movie by any means. Brandon Quintin Adams stars as Fool, a kid with a sick mom, living in a run down apartment building in a neighbourhood left behind by success. His family is about to be evicted because they've missed a monthly payment, and Fool needs money -- so he agrees to a plan with Leroy, played by Ving Rhames, to rob the family that owns his apartment building. That's when things go wrong. The family that owns his building are way, way out there.

To start with, it's a brother and sister, who refer to each other as Mom and Dad -- played by Wendy Robie and Everett McGill. They have a child living with them, Alice -- played by A.J. Langer -- that they had kidnapped because Mom wanted a child. They beat and torture her -- never letting her out of the house -- never letting her have friends. Alice lives in fear. When Fool and Leroy breaks into the house, they get a lot more than they bargain for. For starters, Mom and Dad return home early, and Fool and Leroy can find no way out. They house is totally secured. All windows are bolted, locked and secured from the outside. Not to prevent people from entering, but to prevent people from leaving. What follows is a mad chase through the house -- first by the dog that has a craving for human flesh, then by Dad, dressed in leather outfit and firing a shotgun. Leroy falls, but Fool manages to escape with a little help from Alice and her friend, Roach, played by Sean Whalen.

It seems that Alice isn't the only one trapped in the house. Mom and Dad, and whoever before them, have been kidnapping children and when they misbehave, dumping them in the basement to fend for themselves -- feeding them the flesh of hapless victims that made the mistake to knock on their door. Roach escaped from the basement, but since the house is secure, can't escape the house, so he roams the passageways between the walls. He leads Fool and Alice away from Mom and Dad -- but no for long, as the hunt is on. Mom finally figures out that Alice has been a bad girl, and gives the blood thirsty Dad free reign to punish her -- the only ones in his way are Fool and Roach. Can they fend off an crazy and angry Dad? Can they survive the dog that has tasted human flesh? Can they find a way out of the house before they too fall victims to the madness of Mom and Dad?

Like I said, the movie is an entertaining horror -- with slapstick humour that will make you laugh despite yourself. The actors pull off their roles very well. McGill is great with bloodthirsty madness. Adams and Langer are amazing for young actors -- they were 12 and 17 when the movie was filmed. Wes Craven kept the film at a good frenetic pace. His "Mom and Dad" characters are freaky. Overall, the film was great, and worthy for a Friday, late night watching with a big bowl of popcorn.