The People under the Stairs (1991)
Genre: Horror / Comedy
Duration: 102 minuten
Country:
United States
Directed by: Wes Craven
Stars: Brandon Quintin Adams, Everett McGill and Wendy Robie
IMDb score:
6,4 (43.539)
Releasedate: 1 November 1991
The People under the Stairs plot
"In every neighborhood, there is one house that adults whisper about and children cross the street to avoid."
A boy helps his sister's boyfriend break into the landlord's house that is lighting things up. But this house turns out to be a cross between the house of The Adams Family and Fort Knox: they can get in, but they can't get out. Then the residents come home. With no chance of escape, the boy finds out that the residents have very strange habits and that there are even more prisoners, namely in the basement.
Reviews & comments
Shadowed
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- 11421 messages
- 6719 votes
foolish.
I don't really like Wes Craven as a director anyway. It's hard to deny that he hasn't delivered any classics and there are certainly some winners among them, but unfortunately there are also these kinds of films. Apparently a film with a certain status, only the reasoning why escapes me completely.
Nevertheless, I must confess that the film can lean on some funny ideas. Certainly that house with some traps and traps is nicely decorated and the film certainly scores some points with that in the final. It's also nice when Craven flies through it a bit with the camera, briefly resulting in a few moments of claustrophobia. Unfortunately, these are only short-lived.
Other than that I can't do much with it. A major stumbling block is the fact that the characters don't make much of it. If a dog is the best actor of the whole gang, you must be doing something wrong. I especially thought the villains were sad displays, and putting on such a special outfit isn't going to help much. The good guys hardly come across, and that mystery of the house... Well, it's a nice idea, but it doesn't make an impression anywhere. Too little touching atmosphere for that.
One repetitive piece from Craven that I don't like is that he seems to be mostly focusing on the comedy of a movie, but can't afford to add some nice graphics to it. This makes it annoying after a while if the film continues to rely on the eccentric characters but can never take advantage of them. A nice idea that is only implemented with restraint. Then I thought Craven was doing a lot better two years ago with the film Shocker.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Filmkriebel
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- 10013 messages
- 4679 votes
Crazy... Not Craven's best, but he gets away with it pretty well. The horror part is not that bad ... seemed to be mainly aimed at a younger audience so it all stays within the range. Had a big laugh when "daddy" ran through the house with his bondage suit. Craven sometimes makes strange cavorts with his humor; often it works, but just as often I didn't like it. I did appreciate the attempt to avoid certain clichés and try something new. And so you get a third horror, a third comedy and a third treasure hunt in a maze-like environment where stairs, valves, tubes and walls provide a true joyride...
Translated from Dutch · View original
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